


Bounty

by StarStorm21



Series: Space Family [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alien Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Alien Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Alien Logic | Logan Sanders, Alien Morality | Patton Sanders, Alternate Universe - Aliens, Alternate Universe - Space, Dragon Witch (Sanders Sides), Gen, Half Alien Janus, Human Anxiety | Virgil Sanders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 23,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24548404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarStorm21/pseuds/StarStorm21
Summary: Sequel to Abduction. After they all settle into life on the Mind Palace a bounty hunter infiltrates their defenses to get to Remus and after the attack the crew uncovers some of Dee's backstory that even he didn't know about.
Series: Space Family [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774216
Comments: 117
Kudos: 128
Collections: Humans Are Space Orcs





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Bounty 1111111
> 
> Reverse Changeling 11111
> 
> Light Sides have Animal Traits Too 111
> 
> What Lives in the Woods? 11111
> 
> It's Fun to Play the Villain 11
> 
> After counting everyone's votes Bounty won. First chapter will be up tomorrow.  
> In the mean time enjoy the pic what everyone looks like in this fic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They came for Remus and left with someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really happy with this chapter but I've been staring at it for far too long and don't know what else to do, so here you go.
> 
> Warnings:  
> There's fighting but no one is seriously hurt.  
> Mention of needles used in fight.  
> Remus says something Remusy but it's pretty tame.
> 
> Let me know if there's anything else I need to tag.

“Janus, where are you? We have to go.”

The deep voice of his mom rang through the house.

A teenage Dee stepped out of the shadowed corner and smiled. Despite the Florida heat he was dressed in long sleeves, pants, and gloves. A hat was placed low over his head casting a shadow over his scaled cheek.

“Relax, I’m right here. You know I wouldn’t do anything to make us late for picking up Virgil and Remus.”

His mom nearly jumped out of her skin before turning to him with a smirk.

“You devious little snake. One of these days you’re gonna give me a heart attack.”

Dee just gave a shrug.

“Weren’t you the one who said we had to get going?”

His mom just gave a shake of her head and followed him out to the car.

As they drove Dee’s mom glanced over to him and frowned.

“Is something the matter?”

Dee clenched his fists but gave no other indications something was wrong.

“I’m fine.”

“Now I may not have your ability to sense lies, but I do know when something is bothering my son.”

Dee looked away guiltily before sighing.

“I want to tell them my name. I want them to call me Janus.”

“Honey we talked about this. When your mother left, she said to never let anyone outside the family know your real name.”

Dee scoffed.

“Mother has been gone for over 10 years. Why should I listen to her?”

“Janus please she said that to keep you safe.”

“And that’s what grandma said to you when grandpa told you to keep going by Steve.”

His mom slammed on the brakes and they lurched forward. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel so tight her knuckles were white and her face was that of barely restrained fury.

Dee on the other hand had a face of a kid who knew they had royally screwed up.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.” She sighed. “Let’s just get Virgil and Remus.”

-

Dee opened his eyes and looked up at the plane off white ceiling. Right, Patton had noticed how tired he been looking and told him to take a nap. So much for that.

He really hated that dream. All it did was remind him of the worst day of his life. Or what had been his worst day before Virgil got abducted.

It wasn’t just the fight with his mom that made it awful. They’d been going to pick up Virgil and Remus to go see Virgil’s parents’ launch. That had been the last time any of them saw Virgil’s parents. The day of Virgil and Remus went from his best friends to adopted brothers, and yet his mom still refuse to let him tell them his real name.

He sighed and pushed the memories away. Dwelling on them was only going to make his mood worse.

He got out of bed and made his way to the common room. There he saw Virgil, Roman, and Patton in a deep conversation that sounded like it was about Disney. Meanwhile Remus was happily describing, in detail, some of earth’s more terrifying animals to Logan, who looked interested if a bit panicked.

For a moment Dee just stood awkwardly in the doorway not really knowing what to do. Just then a chime sounded from the kitchen and Patton got to his feet.

“Dinner’s ready!”

He gave Dee a smile and wave as he headed off to the kitchen and Dee turned to see both Virgil and roman waving him over to fill the now empty spot. He gave a small smile letting the awkwardness slip away like it was nothing.

“Mind informing me of what you were talking about?”

Roman gave a blinding smile.

“Not at all, my stellar serpent. Patton, Virgil, and I were attempting to rewrite the plot of the first Frozen movie.”

“I see. How far did you get?”

“Well at the moment Patton was trying to convince us to not have Olaf completely melt when saving Ana.”

That had not been what Dee had been expecting. However, his only expression of surprise was a slight eyebrow raise.

“I have to say, I did not expect that from you, Roman. Aren’t you all brave heroes and happy endings? Killing off a beloved character hardly seems your style.”

Virgil snorted.

“Yeah, seems like Remus has started to rub off on him.”

Roman gave an indignant huff.

“So maybe I can see the merit of using some darker scenes. As long as they’re used to enhance a story beyond just shock value.”

Huh, looked like Roman was capable of taking critiques after all.

“Well it’s totally a one-way effect. I totally haven’t seen Remus rewriting the endings to some of his stories to be less mindlessly gruesome, and giving some meaning to the horror.”

Roman seemed to perk up at that.

“He has?”

Dee nodded before returning the conversation to where it started.

“So back to this Frozen rewrite, please tell me you’re fixing Prince Hans’ villain reveal.”

The three continued their brainstorming for a while longer until Patton called them all to the table.

They all got up and went to sit in their respective spots. Once everyone was seated Patton started passing around the food. Upon seeing what was being served Dee did a double take.

“Is this spaghetti and meatballs?”

“Sure is. I found it’s an Earth dish we can all eat so I wanted to try it.”

“Glad you did. Thanks, Pat.”

Virgil looked ready to face plant into the familiar meal. Remus on the other hand was pretty much already there.

Dee took a bite once everyone was served and his eyes went wide at the taste. His slit pupil was dilated so wide it was almost a complete circle.

“Patton, this sauce is…”

He quickly tried to recompose himself.

“I mean…”

“You gave him a food orgasm!”

Remus burst into laughter at how red the non-scaled side of Dee’s face went. Which just led to Dee’s face becoming even redder. It had been a long time since Remus had managed to fluster him this much.

“Thank you, Remus, that was very helpful.”

The sarcasm practically dripped off Dee’s tongue.

“Sorry Dee, but I had to say something. We both know you weren’t going to be able to spit out your compliment on Patton’s cooking without it coming out all backwards.”

Dee just glared at Remus. He knew Remus was right, but that didn’t mean that he had to be so Remus about it.

“Oh, um well thank you, I think. It wasn’t really me though. I just told the synthesizer what to make and added a few things to the sauce to make the flavor pop a bit more.”

“Still knowing what ingredients to add shows a lot of skill in cooking.”

Dee had managed to calm himself enough to finally get a real compliment out.

Patton looked away sheepishly.

“I don’t know about skill.”

“Dee is correct, Patton. I have witnessed you preparing meals without the synthesizer before and can say as a fact that cooking is definitely something you excel at.”

Logan turned back to his half-eaten meal no one saw him eat, or how he ate it, while Patton smiled brightly at both him and Dee.

They continued to chat about random things for the rest of the meal and Dee felt a familiar feeling start to well up inside him. He wanted to tell them, all of them. Not just Virgil and Remus.

The voice in his head that sounded a lot like his mom tried to talk him out of it but for the first time since moving out he ignored it. What kind of danger would telling his name have now that he hadn’t already been in?

However, just as he opened his mouth to get everyone’s attention an alarm started to go off.

Everyone quickly got to their feet looking around for what was wrong. Both Roman and Remus transformed their sashes into their weapons as Logan pulled up a screen to see if he could find what triggered the alarm.

That turned out not to be needed as an unfamiliar voice caught their attention.

“Hi there, I’m looking for a Fae-lil named Remus. Do you know where I can find him.”

Standing in the doorway to the dining room was a tall thin figure, covered head to toe in a dark maroon outfit, making it impossible to discern anything about them.

Roman leaped forward and brandished his sword at the intruder.

“Fowl villain, you shall not bring any harm to him.”

The person moved their head as if they were looking at the blade.

“Oh pretty. Does it glow in the dark?”

This seemed to throw Roman off balance as the figure suddenly revealed a second pair of arms that had been clasped behind their back.

“A Serapan!”

Logan’s exclamation only just registered to Dee before the knife, the figure had been holding in their now revealed hands, was flung into a panel on the wall and the ship was plunged into darkness.

It took a few seconds for Dee’s eyes to adjust to the small amount of light coming off Roman and Remus’ weapons. First thing he was able to see was Roman protectively standing next to Remus, but it was clear both Fae-lils were having difficulty in the near darkness. The next thing he saw was Logan attaching a visor over his eyes which Dee assumed were like night vision goggles. He also seemed to be holding a handgun of some kind, although Dee had no idea where he got it. Patton seemed to be faring the best with his large eyes and ears. He was easily able to seek out both Dee and Virgil, despite their dark clothing and pulled them close. The Serapan intruder, however, was nowhere in sight.

Just then Patton gasped as he looked up.

“Logan above you!”

Logan looked up and let off a few shots that lit up the room enough to see the figure leap down onto him and knock him to the ground.

“Ouch, you nearly got me there. Let’s make sure you can’t do that again.”

They pinned Logan’s arms down with their upper arms and with one of their extra hands pulled out something with a needle.

“Logan!”

Patton practically jumped across the room to help pull the attacker off Logan. They of course struggled in Patton’s grip but the Poggill was surprisingly strong and he managed to keep them pinned to his chest away from Logan. However, just as Logan was recovering from the attack Patton’s eyes went wide before his whole body suddenly went limp and he collapsed to the floor, the needle sticking out of his side.

“PATTON!”

Virgil was about to lunge forward before Dee quickly grabbed him and held him back. He then whispered into Virgil’s ear.

“We’re not trained to fight. We need a plan.”

Virgil glanced to the unmoving figure of Patton before sighing and nodding to Dee.

Meanwhile the intruder turned from Patton to face Roman and Remus who were still very clearly unable to see anything. They took a step towards them only to stumble forward with a cry of pain as Logan managed to shoot them in the shoulder.

“Oh, right I forgot about you.”

They pulled out another needle and threw it at Logan, who went down the same as Patton.

“Now!”

Dee and Virgil ran out of their hiding place and charged the intruder. This was obviously not expected as they simply froze upon the attack. Their thin frame was no match for the weight of two adult, mostly human, men and was sent into the wall. Dee and Virgil then used Virgil’s hoodie as a makeshift rope to pin their arms to their sides, effectively trapping them.

The intruder looked down at their trapped arms then back at Dee and Virgil.

“Very clever, but you forgot the feet.”

They kicked out at Virgil’s legs which sent him to the ground. This caused him to yank on the hoodie in his hands and pulled it out of Dee’s grip. This freed the intruder but also sent them falling down on top of Virgil.

Once realizing he was pinned under a hostel enemy Virgil went absolutely feral, punching, biting, and scratching the person on top of him.

“Hey, ow. That’s enough.”

The intruder quickly jabbed another needle into Virgil but unlike Patton and Logan, he continued to fight. Apparently, whatever was injected didn’t have the same effect on humans as it did on other species.

“Look’s like it’s the hard way then.”

Dee caught the glint of a blade and suddenly everything stopped. The only thought in his mind was Virgil was about to get stabbed and he couldn’t let that happen. Without thinking he jumped forward and buried his fists in the maroon fabric before yanking back as hard as he could. There was the sound of cloth tearing and suddenly he was on the ground.

“Aw I liked this suit.”

There was a cry of pain from Virgil and then the intruder turned to Dee, who was suddenly regretting every choice he’d ever made.

Then out of nowhere the lights came back on, temporarily blinding them.

Dee squinted, not willing to close his eyes completely when a threat was still nearby. His eyes landed on Virgil who thankfully didn’t appear to have been stabbed. Unfortunately, he did have his arms around his stomach as if in pain and looked to be struggling with breathing the way he did with a panic attack.

He wanted to go over and help but was stopped by a body in front of him. Oh right there was a hostile intruder towering over him. However, the intruder wasn’t very hostile at the moment. Instead they just stared at Dee.

This gave Dee some time to actually take in their appearance. The full body suit still covered the majority of them. However, the peace he’d torn off revealed shimmering greenish yellow scales over the exposed shoulder, along with the edges of what he assumed was a burn from Logan’s blaster. It was actually quite impressive they were still standing let alone fighting after taking a point-blank shot.

His thoughts on the intruder were cut short when they quickly dodged out of the way of a glowing red blade. They took another step back as Roman swung at them again followed by Remus coming from the other side.

The intruder looked between Roman and Remus before glancing back to Dee. They made a noise of frustration and before he knew it, Dee was on his feet with a knife pointed at his neck. Strangely enough he also felt his right hand being squeezed as if in reassurance.

Both Fae-lils stopped in their attack, looking to each other as if asking what to do.

“Looks like I’m going to have to come back for my pay-check. Bye bye.”

The smell of a laser cutting through metal filled the air and suddenly the floor beneath Dee was gone.

He landed in the back of what looked like a small space cruiser and looked up to see a hatch connected attaching the cruiser to the larger ship. There was also a hole cut into the bottom of the Mind Palace that he an the intruder must have fallen through, and was quickly being closed by the ship’s automatic repair systems.

The hatch then closed, and he felt the cruiser detach.

Dread pooled in his stomach and he quickly looked around for a way to defend himself or possibly a way to escape. He really wished he had time to plan. Plans were what he was good at. Split second panic driven decisions, not so much. That was more Virgil’s thing.

“Relax, Janus. Clan doesn’t hurt clan.”

Dee froze then looked suspiciously at the person who’d just kidnapped him.

They had taken off their hood and mask to reveal a fully scaled face, covered in the same off yellow scales he’d seen on their shoulder. Two large frills puffed out on either side of their head before settling back down and brushing against their shoulders. A pair of slit pupils with eyes the same color as Dee’s left one looked down at him.

“Hey, hello. Janus, you with me?”

“Wait, what did you call me?”

“Uh your name. Unless I somehow picked up the other hybrid with the same bright yellow eyes as the rest of our clan. Or eye I guess.”

They gave a shrug.

“What? How do you know my name? The people I grew up with don’t even know my name.”

“Yeah, because they’re not clan. Seriously keep up.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Ok maybe snapping at the person who took out three of his crewmates, and probably more if the lights hadn’t come back on, wasn’t the smartest idea, but they were being way to vague and frustrating. Was this how Virgil felt when Dee didn’t give him a straight answer?

“Wow you really don’t know anything.”

She gave a large grin which sent an uncomfortable tingle down Dee’s spine.

“Guess first thing needed is introductions. Sup most people call me the Dragon Witch, but to you I’m Raz. Nice to meet you cuz.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright we're getting into it.  
> Don't know if there's an accepted name for the Dragon Witch so I picked Raz because it seemed to suit her in this story and it means Secret/Mystery which seemed pretty appropriate for someone related to Janus.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew recovers and try to think of a plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Got side tracked by another project.
> 
> Not really anything to worn about since I didn't really go into detail about Remus' thoughts.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THEY TOOK DEE?!”

Remus flinched as he sat outside the medical bay. He knew Virgil would not take the news well after being calmed down and told what happened, but he was really not in the right headspace to deal with it. Roman probably wasn’t the best person to deal with it either, but with both Logan and Patton still knocked out he was the only one available.

Remus wanted to close his eyes and block out the world but every time he tried another horrible thought of what could be happening to Dee flashed through his mind. He never really liked how his brain worked but right now he really hated it. He’d only just started getting over what had happened to Virgil and now he was spiraling again.

Dee had been the one to keep him sane back then. He always knew exactly what to say to make everything feel like it was going to be ok. Remus always believed him. Even when Dee didn’t believe his own words Remus did. But Dee wasn’t with him now, there was no one to break through the horrible stream of thoughts going through his head and make him feel like the universe wasn’t ending with a few sweet words.

Remus stood. He couldn’t just sit here and do nothing. He needed to do something. Needed to move. Dee had always given him tasks or activities to help ground and distract him from whatever gruesome sequence his brain had cooked up. Surely, he could find something to keep him occupied at least until either Virgil calmed down or Patton and Logan woke up.

He made his way down the hall and aimlessly wondered around trying to think of something that would occupy his brain enough to keep the thoughts away. Preferably, something other than jumping out of the air lock. He still contained something resembling impulse control, thank you very much brain.

Somehow, he found himself back in the dining room and froze. The image of Dee’s shocked and confused face as he was held at knife point flashed into his mind and he shuttered. The strong urge to break something came over him and he looked around for something that wouldn’t be missed.

His eyes landed on a glass, still left over from dinner. Actually, all the dishes were still left out since getting Virgil to calm down and taking Logan and Patton to the medical bay had been more important than cleaning up. Still Remus needed to break something, and glasses were easy to replace. He started towards the table only to stop when he stepped on something that wasn’t the floor.

He looked down and saw he was standing on a piece of cloth. A piece of cloth that was the same maroon the person who took Dee was wearing.

Suddenly all thoughts of smashing the glass was gone and he quickly snatched the fabric from the ground. He looked it over and found there was a small patch attached to it. He flipped it over to get a better look and saw a symbol of a curled-up serpent ready to strike.

-

Remus didn’t realize he was running until he’d nearly slammed into the medical bay door. Without hesitation he flung it open and barged in holding the scrap in the air.

That apparently was unneeded as Roman was holding a hand to his head and looking pointedly at Remus.

“Remus, I was literally less than a five-minute walk away. What was so important that you had to use our link to send me an image of trash?”

Remus rolled his eyes.

“It’s not trash, it’s a piece of the costume the person who took Dee was wearing.”

“What? Let me see.”

Roman grabbed the torn cloth and looked it over.

“It’s also got a patch on it that looks like some kind of symbol. If we find out what it means we might be able to find the person who took Dee and…”

“And what?”

Virgil crossed his arms and glared.

“This person managed to get all the way passed our defenses and nearly took out our entire team with barely any effort. They knew how to beat us. They knew you two were our strongest fighters to cut the lights to take you out of the fight first. Knew Logan was the next biggest threat since Patton would be busy getting me and Dee safe so went after him next. Then even with Patton jumping in and Logan hitting them point blank they were able to regain control of the fight. The only thing that took them even slightly off guard was when Dee and I pinned them against the wall, and they were still able to outsmart us. If the lights hadn’t turned back on there would have been nothing stopping them from taking us all down and shipping us off for that dumb bounty. There’s no way we can beat them. Oh god we’ve lost Dee forever.”

“Falsehood.”

Everyone fell silent and turned to the bed where Logan was waking up.

“We were caught unprepared and without much time to plan. The intruder on the other hand had as much time as they needed to figure out their course of action before revealing themselves to us. However, their tactics were heavily based on our species-specific instinctual responses. Fae-lils rely heavily on their sense of sight but have horrible night vision, making them more reactive than proactive in the dark. Alnaiens automatically analyze situations before making a move, providing a window of vulnerability, and Poggills have a strong protective instinct and won’t engage in fighting if they can get other people to safety. Human responses are less well known but you are known to be rather fierce and violent when under stress. However, since Patton was pulling you away, they had time to strike first. Finally, Serapans always tend to flee a bad situation so they can regroup and plan out a next move. This is probably why you and Dee charging at them with a means of restraining them, caught them off guard. They had no idea which instincts would take over for Dee, but probably assumed worst case scenario would be you two attacking without a plan.”

“So what? We got to ignore our instincts?”

“No, we simply need to learn and plan. We were at a disadvantage in our knowledge of our opponent, but next time we’ll be prepared. Given their skill set it’s highly unlikely there isn’t information about them on file. Roman, may I see that patch?”

“Oh sure.”

Roman handed over the cloth and Logan looked it over.

“Well now I know how they managed to keep upright after getting hit with my blaster.”

He held it up to the light and a metallic shine rippled through it.

“The synthetic fibers are constructed from a transformative material able to deflect concentrated energy, creating an exothermic reaction…”

“Hey Lo, sorry for interrupting but it’s late and I just had a panic attack. Small words for sleepy stupid brain please?”

Logan looked to Virgil who was clearly in the middle of an adrenaline crash and visibly exhausted. Worrying about Dee was probably the only thing keeping him awake.

“Apologies, the cloth is designed to disperse any energy aimed at it and release it as heat. This would mean the shot would merely burn them instead of completely immobilizing them as it was meant to. This is not a common material, finding who had access to such cloth could greatly narrow down our search.”

He then brought it back down to eye level and turned it around in his hand.

“Now about that patch. Ah.”

He examined the snake patch and pulled up his glowing screen.

“Serapan society consist of several family units or clans, and each clan has its own unique crest. This patch is most likely the crest of this particular Serapan’s clan.”

He tapped on the screen and eyes scrunched in a way that indicated he was frowning. He then glanced at Virgil, Roman, and Remus.

“This may take some time. I suggest you get some sleep.”

They exchanged tired looks with each other and nodded. It appeared not even the most stubborn of the group could put up any argument at the moment.

They made their way down out of the medical bay and down the hall to the bedrooms. However, before they arrived Virgil bumped into Remus to get his attention.

“Hey, uh we both know we’re not in stable mental places right now. You want to not be alone tonight?”

Remus blinked as his tired brain processed what Virgil was asking him. Once he did though, a large smile broke over his face and he nodded.

“Yeah. That… that sounds good.”

Virgil smiled and led Remus into his room.

-

“Logan!”

Logan turned from his screen to look to Patton who appeared to have finally woken up.

“Ah, Patton you’re awake.”

Patton turned to Logan and relief covered his features.

“Oh, thank goodness, you’re alright. When I saw the needle, I was so scared and…”

“Yes, Patton I am fine. However, I was knocked unconscious as well. Thankfully, it was only a tranquilizer and there is no lasting damage.”

Patton seemed calmed by Logan’s words, even if he did frown at hearing Logan was still knocked out despite his intervention.

“What happened after I passed out? Are the others alright?”

Logan hesitated before answering.

“Virgil had a panic attack but has recovered. He, along with Roman and Remus, are resting after the stressful events.”

“That’s good, but what about Dee? Shouldn’t he be resting too?”

Logan clenched his fists, which Patton noticed.

“Logan, where’s Dee?”

“According to what I was able to get from Virgil’s panicked rambling, he was taken hostage by our assailant.”

“WHAT?!”

“Do not worry, there is little evidence to suggest he will be harmed. In fact, my research suggests quite the opposite.”

Patton tilted his head in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Well while you were still under the influence of the tranquilizer Remus found a piece of the intruder’s outfit that contained a patch that depicted their Serapan clan. I did some research and while this clan is quite varied there is one physical trait they all seem to share.”

He pulled up a picture on his screen and showed it to Patton.

“That looks like Dee’s left eye.”

“Exactly. It appears that Dee’s Serapan lineage and the person who took him are from the same clan.”

“So, they’re not going to hurt him?”

“Given what is known of Serapan culture, no. At least not intentionally. It is quite possible that being from the same clan is what prompted the intruder to abduct him, but currently he should not be in any physical danger from them.”

Patton’s shoulders lost their tension upon hearing Dee wasn’t in immediate danger.

“But we still have to find a way to get him back. Being kidnapped by a stranger, even if they say they’re your family, can’t feel safe for anyone. He’s probably really scared.”

“Yes, Dee has shown signs of being distressed when he feels he is in situations out of his control. Which is why I’ve been trying to find the person who took them. Unfortunately, I seem to have, as I believe the term is, hit a wall in my research. Information about this particular individual appears to be classified. Given their profession it is understandable, if hindering in this case, all I was able to uncover is that they are known as the Dragon Witch and works as a bounty hunter for hire. All forms of locating them is hidden from public view.”

“So, what do we do?”

“There are two options. First is I hack into the database and taken the information that way, which has a higher chance of success at getting the information but also a much higher risk of being caught doing something illegal and losing any aid from the authorities if needed down the line. The other is going to my home planet and requesting the information directly. This also has a high chance of success if we present our situation correctly and has much lower risk. The only problem is…”

“It’ll take a long time to get to Alnaya.”

“Precisely.”

“We should wait for the others to wake up to make a decision.”

“Yes, that would be wise. We should also go to sleep as well. Being rendered unconscious is hardly restful sleep.”

Patton gave a small nod.

“Yeah.”

Logan watched Patton get out of the medical bed in case he experienced any lingering weakness from the tranquilizer, but it appeared he was fine. They exchanged looks that conveyed more than words could and made their way down the hall to their rooms.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raz tries to bond with her cousin. Dee isn't having it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Got caught up in my Avatar Zuko fic.

Dee’s thoughts were spiraling, which he did not appreciate in the slightest. He’d just been thrown into a situation he had no idea what to do about and he hated it. He always made sure to know what was happening around him and had a plan for what to do. He’d assess the pros and cons before making decisions and always had a way to regain control if things did not go in his favor.

This was not the case right now. Right now, he was on an unfamiliar ship, he had no idea where he was going, and was with a stranger who kidnapped him then claimed to be his cousin. Oh, and talking about clans as if he was supposed to know what those were.

Needless to say, he had no idea what was going on and he did not like it one bit.

Well there was one way to get information. Although, he hated to let anyone know he didn’t know what he was doing. Especially, someone he knew nothing about and his powers of lie detection were useless on. It was far too vulnerable for his liking. Still he needed to do something, or his lack of knowledge would end up hurting him in the end. The only way he was going to learn anything was to ask. Just maybe not too much.

He turned to Raz, who’d he learned used she/her pronouns, and so far was the only thing he seemed to know about her.

“So, what happens now?”

Raz turned from the mirror she was looking in to check the burn on her shoulder.

“Well first I get a bandage on this and change into some clothes that my little cousin didn’t rip a hole in.”

“Oh, sorry I’ll be sure to gently pull you away when I see you going after my crewmate with a knife!”

The reply slipped out so easily he almost forgot to say crewmate instead of friend, or worse, brother. He had no idea how Raz would react to that.

Raz threw her head back and laughed.

“You really are part of my clan.”

She then went to a trunk in the back of the cruiser and pulled out some more casual looking clothes.

Dee felt his skin crawl. There was that word “clan” again. He really had no idea what that meant, and he hated it.

“But seriously what are we going to do now? Or was kidnapping your long-lost cousin not something you had a plan for?”

Raz turned to Dee with a smile.

“Har har, like I wouldn’t have a plan in case I was the first one to meet you. Let me take care of this burn and I’ll fill you in later.”

-

Once Raz was out of the room Dee quickly started to look around. Finding out more about his situation was all he really had at the moment. Raz seemed pleasant enough to him but he wasn’t about to trust her after only knowing her for an hour. Especially when she’d been ready to kill one of his best friends and hand the other over to a dangerous mad man for money. Yeah not the best introduction to build trust.

The cruiser was pretty standard looking, not that he’d been in many to really compare, but nothing really stood out to him. The only thing that looked personal, and not for piloting or maintaining the small ship, was the trunk Raz had taken her clothes from.

After shooting a look at the door he went over to it and lifted the lid. Most of what was inside was pretty standard for what you might find in a trunk. Spare clothes, a few blankets, and what looked to be an old stuffed toy of some alien animal. On top of all that though was a data pad.

He glanced to the door again and quickly took it. Surprisingly, it unlocked from his touch. Unfortunately, the first thing he saw made him wish it hadn’t. On the screen was a digital rendition of Remus’ face, obviously made by someone who hadn’t seen him in years, but definitely close enough to be recognized. Below the picture were the details of his bounty. The reward money was the first thing to pop out, and yeah that was a lot of money, not enough to even think about sending someone he didn’t absolutely hate to someone as horrid as the Grand Leader, but he knew there were people deprived or desperate enough. He wondered which one Raz was? And how much? He did not miss the line under the reward stating more would be given if Remus’ allies were also captured.

He heard the sound of the door opening and he quickly dropped the data pad back into the trunk. He then turned to the door, masking any nerves he had from her return. However, she did seem a bit less threatening when in casual clothes.

Raz gave him a smile and flopped over on the floor next to him.

“Come sit, I got some stuff I need to say.”

Dee sat down cross legged, trying not to frown at how uncomfortable sitting on the floor was. Didn’t she have chairs? Or even some pillows?

Raz leaned back on her hands and looked over at him.

“So, first step is probably getting you caught up on Serapan culture. Growing up on Earth probably made it hard for you to learn, given how slowly they’re integrating into the alliance.”

“What makes you think I wanted to learn?”

Dee felt his hart lurch at the realization of what he’d just said. He had not meant for that to be spoken allowed.

Raz, however, just laughed.

“You were on a ship in the middle of nowhere living with a guy with a huge bounty on his head. Why else do something so stupid unless you felt the need to find your clan?”

Dee squashed the urge to tell her he didn’t even know he had a clan, whatever that even meant, and he was on that ship because he wanted to live safe and happy with his friends, but he kept quiet. Telling her the truth was not the smart move right now.

“You got me. So, what’s the first thing you’re going to teach me?”

“Well I’m going to have to mix it up a bit since I’m in the middle of a job. So, you’ll be getting some hands-on training.”

Dee’s heart felt like it was dropped somewhere near his stomach. Was she expecting him to help her turn Remus over to the Grand Leader? Yeah that was not going to happen, but maybe he can used that to his advantage. If he played his cards right, he might not just be able to return to the others but also stop future attempts at the bounty as well.

“And what precisely does that entail?”

Raz smirked.

“Well I guess it’s not strictly culture but we’re going to have to make sure you can defend yourself. No offense but it was pretty easy to take you down once I broke free from your sneak attack. You really aren’t good at adapting when things don’t go to plan.”

The need to counter with a biting remark startrf to bubble up but he pushed it down. He needed to be smart right now.

He opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Raz held up a hand.

“I get needing to have a plan, but in a fight, things are always changing, and you need to know how to react and adapt.”

Dee continued to bite his tongue. He was glad having a good poker face was a pretty universal useful skill.

“So how exactly are you going to teach me? There’s not exactly room in here to do much.”

He motioned to the cramped ship.

“Not a problem. We’re headed someplace with a lot more room. In the meantime, we could do something a bit simpler. You’re going to need an alias.”

“Alias?”

“Yeah, like how mines The Dragon Witch. I can’t call you Janus when we’re out in the field. Names are for clan only after all.”

Something clicked into place and suddenly a hot jolt of anger spiked through him. That’s it? The reason he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone his name was because of this stupid clan thing he didn’t even know about until now?

He clenched his fists, glad for his gloves hiding how tight he was squeezing them.

“So, what were they calling you on that ship?”

Dee is snapped out of his angry thoughts at the question.

“Oh, uh Dee.”

Raz raised an eye ridge like she didn’t quite believe him.

“Dee?”

“It’s short for Deceit.”

And that’s all he was going to say on that matter. There was no way he was explaining his mom’s old nick name for him and how Remus and Virgil adopted it when he wasn’t allowed to give them his name.

Raz shrugs.

“Yeah, Deceit works, unless there’s something else you want to go by?”

Dee shook his head.

“No. Deceit is fine.”

He had a feeling that if they continued on this track things would start getting personal and he was nowhere trusting or dumb enough for that.

“Well that was easy. Any particular reason why you chose that for your alias?”

Dee shrugged, trying to make it seemed like there wasn’t much too it.

“It’s what I’ve been going by for a long time now. It just kind of stuck. Feels weird to be called by anything else now. Except for my real name I guess.”

Raz nodded in understanding, although, a brief look of disappointment flashed across her face before she replaced it with a smile.

“We’ve still got time until we reach our destination, and now that we’ve got aliases out of the way we can focus on something a bit more fun.”

She went over to the trunk and pulled out the data pad Dee had been looking at not that long ago. She tapped on the screen a few times before plopping back down next to him. She held out the pad which had several different weapons.

“Technically you can’t really find the right weapon for you without actually holding them, but we can narrow it down a bit.”

Dee stiffened at the close proximity but gave no other indication of being uncomfortable.

“Weapon?”

“Yeah, you’ll need a signature weapon.”

She pulled out her knife.

“I’m best in close combat, getting up and personnel with the people I’m fighting, but I also like getting things done quickly. Drawing things out just seems needless and cruel. Knives are also quite versatile and can be used more than just for killing.”

Dee narrowed his eyes. It seemed she’d been hinting at something but before he had time to think about it, she’d put the knife away and turned attention back to the data pad.

“Let’s see since you’re not a trained fighter, you’ll probably want something long range, but also allows you to keep control of the fight.”

She tapped on the pad a few times and Dee’s attention was caught by something that appeared on the screen.

“What about that?”

Raz’s eyes lit up.

“Oh yes I think a hooked cane would be perfect. It’s easy enough to get the hang of and fits the other criteria. It’s also very hard for it to be lethal unless you want it to be.”

Dee looked to Raz questioningly, but she was too focused on the data pad to notice. She had pulled up a screen of different styles of hooks and was excitedly chatting away about how he could customize one. She then turned to him with a genuine and almost familiar smile and for a brief moment he forgot she was the same person who’d attacked his friends only a couple hours earlier. The realization filled him with dread.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew figures out what to do and Logan helps Virgil with his doubts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's kind of short but I hope you guys still like it.

Logan realized waiting for the others to help choose a course of action was a very bad idea. At this point the argument that had broken out between Virgil and Remus had very little to do with their dilemma and devolved into petty insults.

Remus had wanted to find Dee as fast as possible while Virgil had wanted to be cautious. Remus had accused Virgil of not caring enough about Dee and things spiraled from there. He’d stopped listening a while ago and started both mapping out a rout to Alnaya and pulling up the information files on The Dragon Witch, so when the two finished their ridiculous ad hominem fallacies and got back onto the actual argument the course of action chosen could be followed immediately.

“Enough!”

Logan looked up from his screen to see everyone looking at Patton. It appeared the arguing had finally gotten to the point that Patton couldn’t take it anymore and had used, what Virgil had named, his Dad Voice.

“Remus, I know you want to get Dee back as fast as possible, we all want that, but shouting at Virgil isn’t going to do that. He’s just trying to keep all of us safe.”

He turned to Virgil.

“Virgil, thank you for keeping the whole group in mind, but some of those names you called Remus were pretty mean.”

Both slumped and nodded. Patton relaxed.

“Good now apologize and we can go back to figuring out what to do.”

Virgil and Remus looked away guiltily, apparently realizing how much time they were wasting. They turned to each other and apologized. They then sat back down at the table they’d been talking around, and Roman sifted back into passion from where he’d stepped back to avoid getting sucked into the argument and later Patton’s disappointed eyes.

Logan lowered his screen so he could regain eye contact with the group.

“Now that all of that has been settled. I do have information that may have sway over our decision. I’ve looked over the security it would have to hack through, and they seem to have altered it due to a previous hack. Honestly, I should have expected this. I will still be able to access the information the risk of being detected will be greatly increased as it will be more heavily scrutinized. In addition, if my hacking is discovered it is quite possible that we will be connected to the previous hacker making consequences far more severe.”

Virgil was the first to speak.

“What do you mean you should have expected it?”

Logan adjusted his tie.

“Well someone obviously hired The Dragon Witch to collect the bounty on Remus so must have had to find the information to locate her. Without the proper connections to the only way to get the information is through hacking.”

“So hacking is off the table.”

Logan’s eyes squinted in contusion.

“Hacking is an action it cannot be physically put on any surface let a long a table.”

“It’s a figure of speech. I mean hacking is no longer an option.”

“Oh, not necessarily. I will still be able to get the information, the risk and consequences are just elevated.”

“Then don’t do it.”

Everyone turned to Remus.

“Look I get that I don’t really think about consequences and shit like that, but I know we also got to be smart about this. I want Dee back as soon as we can, but we can’t really save him if we’re running from the law ourselves. Computer brain said Dee wasn’t going to get hurt by this Dragon Witch, right?”

Logan nodded.

“Yes, from my basic research of Serapan culture, to harm another member of the clan is considered one of the worst things one can do. Clan bonds are incredibly important to them.”

“So, we got time. Besides if I know Dee, he’s probably thinking of his own plan to get back to us.”

“Oh yes, Dee has proven himself quite resourceful and cunning. We should keep the communication lines as free as possible while we head for Alnaya.”

With a course of action decided on the crew dispersed although the heavy atmosphere remained.

-

Later as Logan was checking the navigation systems, he noticed Virgil approach him.

“Greeting Virgil, are you in need of my assistance?”

Virgil shifted and looked away.

“Never mind it was stupid. I’ll just go.”

“I can assure you that I will not judge you for any inquiry you may have.”

Virgil nervously bit his lip before taking a breath.

“It’s just that you said that clan bonds are very important to Serapans.”

“That is correct.”

“So, um could you explain that a bit more? I know you said The Dragon Witch wouldn’t hurt him, but it seemed like there was more to it.”

“Observant. While it is hard to say exactly as Serapans are a rather secretive species and tend not to divulge much information about, but what we do know is that clan bonds are considered the most important relationships to Serapans. It is unclear if this is due to the way they are raised or if it based on instinct, but it has been started that they feel an obligation to the bond even if they never met a particular member of the clan, which is probably why The Dragon Witch felt the need to take Dee.”

“Oh…”

Logan looked up from his screen and turned to Virgil.

“You appear distressed.”

“It’s just that. If this bond thing could be instinctual and the obligation is something that they feel even if they don’t know the other person, do you think Dee could…”

Logan’s furrowed his brow.

“Virgil, I will be the first to admit that I am not the best at understanding personal relationships, even among my own species, but there is one thing I do know as fact. Instinct does not dictate them. It can be an influence, but it is not the driving force. All lasting relationship need to be built with time and effort. I have seen how he interacts with you and Remus, and with Roman and Patton as well. Those are truly strong bonds that cannot be overwritten by on interaction.”

Virgil looked to Logan, wide eyed.

“You really mean that? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”

“When have you ever known me to avoid the facts to spare some one’s feelings? I meant ever word. These are the objective facts. Dee traveled light years across the galaxy for you. His relationship with you and the rest of the crew is incredibly resilient.”

Virgil smiled and his shoulders relaxed.

“Thanks, Lo, but don’t count yourself out of this. You’ve got a pretty good relationship with him too.”

“Well I suppose our debates have been enjoyable and allowed us to learn about each other. I’m sure he sees me as a respectable crewmate, the same as you.”

“I meant you’re his friend too. Don’t think I haven’t seen you two watching mystery shows together.”

Virgil placed a hand on Logan’s arm.

“You’re all of our friend.”

Logan looked down at Virgil’s hand and blinked.

“I suppose you are correct. Thank you for pointing out my flaw in judgment.”

Virgil smiled.

“Any time, Lo.”


	6. Chapter 6

“We’re here.”

Dee looked out of the window in the direction Raz was pointing. They appeared to be approaching a massive planet with large yellow rings around it, but that wasn’t what she was pointing at. A little to the right of the planet was a large moon that even from this distance was easily shown to be sustaining life.

As the cruiser got closer, he could make out more details, such as land masses and some larger constructs. They hit the atmosphere with a jolt but the dissent was pretty smooth the rest of the way down.

-

They landed in a rather secluded area, surrounded by vegetation on all sides. The air was warm and humid and smelled of damp soil.

“This way.”

Raz brushed away a curtain of vines and moss that seemed to have braided themselves together in patterns that would have been impossible for any earth plant. On the other side was a dome structure painted in greens and yellows to match the surrounding vegetation.

“Pretty clever, huh?”

Dee moved his attention from the building back to Raz.

“Everyone thinks an interplanetary bounty hunter’s secret base would be hidden in some distant asteroid field or something, but nope it’s just in a forest on our home world.”

Dee nodded. He had to admit most people would not think to look for her here. Even he had expected something more sinister, but the dome looked rather innocent. Of course, he knew as well as anyone that looks could be deceiving.

Raz pressed her palm to the door and it opened to reveal a rather domestic looking setting inside. There was a living room, dining room, and kitchen that he could see and a hall he assumed led to bedrooms and a bathroom. Not at all what he had expected.

Some of his surprise must have slipped onto his face because Raz smiled and went to stand in the middle of the living room floor. She then stomped twice. There was a mechanical hissing noise and a section of the floor dropped out. Underneath, was a staircase that led down into darkness.

She then grabbed Dee’s arm and dragged him down before he had a chance to avoid her, not seeing how his eyes had narrowed in suspicion.

He pulled his arm out of her hold but kept following. The thought of just turning around and bolting back to the cruiser crossed his mind but he quickly rejected it. Not only did he have no idea how to fly the ship let alone how to find his way back to the Mind Palace, Raz was far faster and stronger than him. He probably wouldn’t even make it to the front door if he ran.

Right now, his advantage was her thinking he was on her side due to this clan thing, running now would lose him that advantage. For now, he would have to follow and wait for an opportunity.

At the bottom of the stairs was a thick door, made of something that looked like steal, set into a wall that looked just as unbreakable. Much different than the flexible organic plastic stuff nearly everything he’d seen since coming to space was made from. This looked more reminiscent of a bank vault.

Raz placed her hand on the door and the loud clunk of something heavy moving sounded from inside before it slid open. On the other side was much more of what Dee had expected.

A large gymnasium with a wall full of weapons and various equipment to build muscle and enhance fighting skills occupied the majority of the space in front of him. To the right the gym gave way to another room full of computers and other technology. Basically, anything one could think of an interplanetary bounty hunter having, it was here.

“I know, it’s impressive.”

Dee realized he was staring in awe and quickly schooled his face into something more neutral.

A wistful look crossed Raz’s face.

“I always loved showing this to other clan, I haven’t been able to do that for a while.”

Before Dee got the chance to ask what she meant, Raz pulled him into the tech room. She stopped in front of what looked like a giant 3D printer.

“I don’t have any hooked canes in my armory right now, so we’ll have to wait for one to be made.”

She then picked up a small device on the table next to the printer and pointed it at Dee as she used two other hands to type something into the printer’s touch screen.

“Hold still. I need to get the right measurements, so I don’t accidentally make it too heavy or something.”

Dee nodded and held still as the device glowed for a second. Once it was done Raz plugged it into the printer and it started up.

“It’ll take a few minutes for it to be ready. So, you want to eat something while we wait?”

The question made Dee realize he hadn’t eaten anything since the Mind Palace, and it had been several hours since then. He also hadn’t slept since then, which normally wouldn’t be a problem but given the events of the day added with his horrid sleeping schedule it was. He assumed adrenaline was the only reason he was still awake at this point. Of course, despite still being technically kidnapped and knowing his current safety could be conditional, his body only seemed to care that he was safe at that particular moment and exhaustion slammed into him like a truck.

“Depends, what are you offering?”

Keeping his air of calm was a lot harder now but he seemed to manage.

Raz scrunched her face in thought for a moment before shrugging.

“I’m not sure how to describe anything in a way you’ll understand so how about I just show you?”

Dee didn’t think he had the energy to both respond and get back up the stairs so simply nodded and followed Raz back to the kitchen.

-

His back ached in protest as he sat straight in the chair Raz provided, and then even more when he turned to face her. As hungry as he was, sleep was making it very clear to be the more pressing need at the moment. He almost envied Virgil’s stamina. His body wouldn’t be trying to force him to relax when he still didn’t know what to expect. Although, he doubted he’d appreciated being so tightly wound that he’d a snap at the slightest touch either.

He was pulled out of his musings by Raz setting a plate in front of him. The smell of food also woke him up a bit and he looked down to see what it was.

Large bite sized cubes of various colors and smells covered the plate. His stomach rumbled at the delicious smells, so he deemed it edible. Didn’t Logan say that humans could eat most alien food? He supposed the same went for half aliens, especially when the food was meant for his non-human half. Now he just needed to figure out how to eat it.

He glanced to Raz who had the same thing on her plate and was using a utensil that looked like tweezers to bring the cubes to her mouth. Sure enough, Dee had the same kind of utensil next to his own plate. He picked up one of the cubes he assumed was some kind of meat and put it in his mouth. He found it tasted a lot like ham and suddenly he couldn’t stop himself.

As soon as he’d swallowed a bite another was in his mouth to take its place. He wasn’t wolfing it down by any means but compared to his typical dignified, leisurely pace he was eating quite rapidly. He didn’t realize he was finished until the tweezers clinked against the plate.

“Looks like you were hungry.”

“Well it’s been a while since I’ve had food this good.”

That was a lie. Sure, the cubes were good, but it couldn’t compare to when Patton cooked. His hand tightened around his utensil at the thought of Patton. He really needed to find a way to contact the Mind Palace.

Raz smiled at the complement and hopped down from her chair.

“Well don’t you know how to flatter someone. Anyway, the cane should be ready now. Do you want to try it out?”

Dee got up from his chair and had to grip the table to stop himself from falling over. Right he was still in the mist of an adrenaline crash.

“Janus?”

Raz was suddenly at his side with a worried expression.

Dee grit his teeth and tried to wave her off.

“I’m fine just...”

He was cut off by a massive yawn and Raz stumbled back.

“What was that?”

Dee blinked.

“A yawn.”

“A what?”

Dee frowned before realizing what was going on. Back on Earth he’d been used to thinking of his Serapan traits as the odd parts of himself, then everyone on the Mind Palace had already gotten used to Virgil so he didn’t have to explain anything. This was the first time he was in a situation where his human traits were the parts that needed explanation.

“It’s nothing, just something humans do when their tired.”

Raz smacked her head.

“Right sorry. I was so excited about meeting you, I completely forgot what being have human really meant. Is there anything you need? Like to accommodate…”

“I’m fi...”

He was cut off by another yawn and Raz crossed her arms.

“You said you do that when you’re tired. So, it looks like you at least need a bed.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hall to the bedrooms. Dee didn’t have the energy to fight her.

-

The room was small but comfortably so. The walls were a warm brown and there was a circular window across from the door. In the corner was what could be assumed to be the bed, but it wasn’t shaped like any bed he knew. It was on a single stand and enclosed in a flattened egg shape.

There was an opening in the dome large enough for him to sit while he took his hat and shoes off and as he laid down, he noticed a small array of buttons. He pressed one in curiosity and the dome above him lit up with a soft light that gave off a pleasant warmth. The bed was climate controlled then. He pressed the button to turn off the lights and shifted to lay on his back.

His plan was to pretend to sleep until Raz left and then he would sneak out to try and find some kind of communicator, but his body had different plans. As soon as he’d gotten comfortable, he was out in seconds.

Raz stood in the doorway as she watched Dee climb into the bed and fall asleep. A warm smile crossed her features before she closed the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the one before it were meant to be one chapter but it was taking too long to write so I posted the first half so you guys wouldn't be waiting forever. Don't worry we'll get back to the rest of the crew next chapter.

Dee woke with a start upon remembering why he wasn’t in his bed on the Mind Palace. After mentally scolding himself he rolled out of the pod bed in the most dignified way he could manage and looked around. There wasn’t any kind of clock in the room, so he had no idea how long he’d been out. There was still light coming from the window, but he couldn’t really use that as a guide since he had no idea how long days were here.

Still he’d got what he wanted. Raz was no longer stuck to his side like she’d been for nearly the full time since she’d kidnapped him. He was free to figure out a plan of action.

First things first he needed to get in contact with the Mind Palace. Letting his crew know where he was would be the best way to get him home. The fact that speaking to them would also calm the swirling fear that had been building since he was taken, had nothing to do with it.

He put his hat back on but left his shoes, recalling how they would click against the floor, and silently slipped out of the room.

There wasn’t really anything in the hallway. Just two other doors one leading to a bathroom and the other he assumed was to Raz’s room which, while he was curious, he was not something he was going to risk at the moment.

He made his way down the hall to be met with the same living room, dining room, and kitchen he’d been in, he assumed, no more than a few hours ago. He looked around but nothing resembling a communicator of any kind was visible from where he was. He walked around being sure to make it look like he was just taking in his surroundings and not looking for anything specific.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything useful in the three rooms. They were just standard rooms and aside from the few personal nick-nacks here and there nothing really stood out. Not that he was all that surprised. Raz didn’t seem like the kind of person who would leave something like a communication device just laying out in the open.

That left his only two options being the underground gym and tech room or her bedroom. The tech room was probably his best bet but given the level of security and the high chance that Raz would be down there, her room was the safer option.

He snuck back down the hall, careful to not make any noise and carefully opened the door. After peaking in to make sure no one was in the room, he entered and looked around. It looked like a more lived in version of the room he’d slept in. Weird egg-shaped bed, window on the far wall and a table underneath.

Then he saw it. There on the table was a small device that looked similar to a smart phone. Sure, it was possible that like a smart phone it didn’t have the range to contact anyone off planet, but it was worth a shot.

He went over and picked it up and much like the tablet on the cruiser it unlocked at his touch. The difference was that it also projected holograms of all the tabs open on the device, and there were a lot.

After the initial shock and a quick look to make sure Raz still wasn’t coming he turned back to take a closer look. It all seemed to be news articles, his earpiece translating everything as he scanned the text. Some about Raz herself but most about another person, only referred to as The Chimera. The article right up front had the title “The Chimera Arrested for Illegal Splicing Operation, Charges on The Dragon Witch Dropped.”

“Famous vigilante and bounty hunter, known to non-clan as The Chimera, was arrested for smuggling and distributing illegal gene editing technology. He was caught after a bust revealed further evidence connected him to the operation. While previous investigations pointed to his vigilante partner, The Dragon Witch, it was later revealed that she was set up by her partner to take the fall after she attempted to convince him to stop. This betrayal of clan has led may of his clan to disown him which many result in him being registered as clanless. Head law enforcement…”

“His name was Manny.”

Dee whipped around to see Raz standing in the doorway. He then quickly put the device down and shut it off.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to pry. I was just looking for you and got distracted.”

The lie came out faster than he could really think about it and was silently thankful that he was Serapan enough for her to not detect it.

Raz nodded and smiled.

“It’s alright, you were going to find out eventually. It’s not like it’s a secret.”

She took the device and turned it over in her hands.

“We were partners, but before that we were best friends. We were inseparable and I trusted him with my life. It was our teamwork that got us recognized to the point that we could start taking off planet jobs. Then Manny met some people. People I didn’t trust but he ignored me. It got to the point where I asked him if some random people he met, were more important than clan. That snapped him out of it. He told me I was right and that it was wrong of him to treat another relationship as more important than the one we built, and he left those people behind. Or at least I thought he did. Years later I stumbled upon his operation. I told him to stop that it was dangerous and wrong to mess with people’s DNA like that. We got into a huge fight until I told him that he’d promised me as clan he wouldn’t talk to those people again. I don’t know why but that just seemed to make him angrier, so I left. The next day I found myself surrounded by law enforcement. When Manny was finally caught and charges against me dropped, I asked him why he would turn on his clan like that and he told me because clan was apparently all we were. I still have no idea what he meant by that.”

She placed the device back on the table. Then looked to Dee and a guilty look crossed her face.

“There’s more I should probably tell you. Manny’s betrayal had lasting consequences. Even though it was proven I had no connection to the illegal splicing operation some people refused to believe it. Most of them being the enemies Manny made that had a score to settle. Most weren’t really any kind of threat.”

She smirked and motioned to herself.

“Perks of being an intergalactic bounty hunter.”

Her smile dropped.

“But unfortunately, knives and prison bars can’t stop all of them. That’s why I live out here, alone. It keeps me and the rest of the clan safe.”

The thought of ‘then why did you pull me into this?’ crossed Dee’s mind but he remained quiet.

“And it will stay safe once this job is over.”

Dee clenched his fists at the reminder of what Raz was going to do but managed to keep the suspicion and bitterness out of his voice.

“What are you talking about?”

“This job isn’t like the ones I normally take. Being a bounty hunter isn’t actually illegal as long as I don’t do anything illegal while doing it. No killing unless in self-defense, no illegal weaponry, and only take jobs that go after criminals recognized by the authorities within the jurisdiction. You probably know this already but this job while technically following that criteria isn’t that straight forward.”

“You mean how, even though the bounty was issued by the governmental leader of the area where the crime supposedly took place, the bounty was ordered after Remus renounced his citizenship to become one of the wider galactic alliance?”

“Huh, so you did do your research.”

Dee shrugged like it was no big deal. As if he hadn’t been up late into the night for months alongside Virgil and Roman, and occasionally with Logan and Patton, researching everything they could about the bounty to keep Remus safe.

“Still don’t see what that’s got to do with safety. Wouldn’t it be safer to avoid controversial and potentially illegal jobs?”

Raz winced.

“Normally, yes, but the circumstances aren’t exactly normal. The person who hired me for this job didn’t get my contact the way he was supposed to. He hacked the alliance’s file on me and now has everything, personal contacts, locations, clan status, everything. When I rejected the job, he threatened to release the information. I can’t risk it. Although, maybe it was for the best.”

Dee raised an eyebrow.

“Meaning?”

Raz sighed.

“I never wanted any clan to get involved in this, but you were already involved with being part of the crew. If anyone else tried to cash in that bounty you would have been counted as an ally and imprisoned along with the rest of them, but with you helping me it’ll be proof that you’re my ally and not theirs.”

A cold, hard pit lodged itself into Dee’s gut, but he simply gave a nonchalant smile and shrugged.

“I suppose I am lucky for that.”

Raz’s eyes then went wide and a huge grin spread over her face.

“Oh, I almost forgot. You’re hooked cane is finished. Let’s go test it out.”

She grabbed Dee’s hand and pulled him to the underground gym.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok first let me just scream about the last episode for a moment. AAAAAAAAAAAAA! I love Nico! I can't wait to see more of him. Also Virgil's glittery eyeshadow when he's happy! SO CUTE. And the whole thing was an animatic! I was happy just to see the pixel animation in POF but a whole video. As someone who makes "animated" videos myself I'm always so happy to see animation in the content I watch. Major shout out to the artists who worked on that. 
> 
> Alright now that I got that out of my system, here's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy.

The days between leaving for Alnaya and arriving were spent very restlessly on the Mind Palace. None of the inhabitants could really seem to settle, Virgil least of all.

It was the middle of the second week that Roman found him wedged in a cabinet in one of the storage rooms. He took a startled step back before sighing.

“Just when I thought I was used to finding you in strange places. Howe did you even get up there?”

“Climbed.”

He pointed to a crate that was to the side of the cabinet.

Roman stared at it for a moment as if trying to calculate the distance between the crate and the shelf before shaking his head and looking back at Virgil.

“If I hadn’t seen stranger from you, I’d ask how you fit in there but I’m more concerned about the why?”

Virgil somehow managed to scrunch himself deeper into the cabinet.

“You’re worrying about Dee, aren’t you?”

Virgil nodded in the limited space he had.

“I get that, but you remember what Logan said about The Dragon Witch not hurting him because of those weird clan rules and instincts. Plus, Dee’s smart, he knows how to turn things to his advantage. He’ll be fine. We only have a few days left to Alnaya any way, and once we know where he is we can swoop in and save him like the brave heroes we are.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, but he wasn’t frowning anymore.

“Now come out of there and take a run around the gym with me. I know you only scrunch yourself up like a sullen surprise toy when you’re about to burst with nervous energy.”

Vrigil shifted his position but didn’t get out of the cabinet.

“What’s wrong, Dark Matter, stuck?”

Virgil huffed and turned his face away, but not before Roman caught the darkening of his cheeks.

“Ha, I saw that. You are stuck.”

“Saw what? I’m not stuck.”

“Don’t try to play that. I know enough about humans to know that a red face means embarrassment.”

“Not always.”

“Yeah, but I know enough that the other ways don’t involve you being able to talk back like that, so yeah you’re stuck.”

Virgil didn’t reply, which was all the confirmation Roman needed and for the first time in almost two weeks he burst into laughter.

-

Roman did eventually get Virgil out of the cabinet and they took their run to get his anxiety under control.

Later they found Logan in the common room typing frantically on one of his screens, a pinched line between his eyes.

Roman went over to sit next to him while Virgil stood behind the couch.

“So, what’s got our favorite teacher so tense?”

Logan looked up.

“I am formulating what we are going to say to the council once we arrive on Alnaya, but I have run into a bit of an issue.”

Virgil frowned as he leaned over to try and get a look at Logan’s screen.

“What kind of issue?”

“Nothing bad. It is just that the procedure requires that someone who was present and aware of the events as they happened has to be the one presenting. Both Patton and I were rendered unconscious, and both Roman and Remus’ sight was impaired for the majority of the altercation. Which leaves only you, Virgil.”

“Wait are you saying I have to stand in front of a bunch of people, explain how one of my best friends got kidnapped, and if I don’t do it right, they won’t tell us where to find him!”

Virgil’s hands started shaking as he stepped away from the couch.

“Logan, I just pulled him out of a cabinet he was not ready for you to dump that on him.”

Logan ignored Roman and kept his attention on Virgil.

“Virgil, take a deep breath and listen to me.”

“You know I can’t talk in front of people! Oh god I’m going to fuck it up and we’re never going to get Dee back.”

Roman vaulted over the couch and stood in front of Virgil.

“Virgil look at me. Don’t think about anything else just focus on me, alright?”

Virgil looked at roman and nodded.

“Ok now take a deep breath and let Logan explain. I’m sure his big brain is already thinking of ways to make it easier on you.”

Virgil managed to take in a large breath and calmed down. He then looked to Logan.

“Roman is correct. I am currently trying to find a way, so you do not have to speak as it clearly causes you discomfort. Currently, I have narrowed down your needed involvement to simply relaying the events. It should take no more than a couple minutes. You will also not be alone, the rest of us will be with you and I will take over as soon as you have finished and bring attention away from you as quickly as possible.”

Virgil took another breath, letting Logan continue.

“We also have a few more days before we arrive, and in that time, I will continue to search for a way to avoid you having to speak. Meanwhile you also have time to practice what you are going to say so you feel more prepared and less overwhelmed in the event you do.”

Virgil nodded.

“Now perhaps you should have something to eat. Given what Roman told me you’ve been burning a lot of energy in a short amount of time and it has also been proven that eating sooths the fear response in humans.”

“Yeah, food sound good.”

They all headed to the kitchen to find Patton surrounded by at least 5 different pastries from every planet known. He turned around and stopped upon seeing everyone in the doorway.

“Oh, hey guys. Sorry about the mess I guess I got carried away with the baking.”

“Do not worry Patton, it seems we arrived at the right time. Virgil is in need of a snack, and I believe something high in calories and simple sugars may in this one instance be beneficial.”

Logan then looked to Virgil.

“However, I would recommend a confection that involves some form of fruit at least.”

Virgil nodded sheepishly, knowing Logan was well aware of his sweet tooth. He took what looked like a green doughnut, but he knew was filled with a fruit that made it taste like apple pie and bit down. Instantly the warm texture and familiar taste made him relax and he smiled.

After swallowing he looked around and noticed someone was missing.

“Hey where’s Remus?”

Patton perked up.

“Oh, he said he needed to break something, so I told him where all the trash goes before it gets recycled. Last I checked he was throwing broken dishes at the wall and stacking the shards into pointy sculptures.”

Virgil nodded, glad that Remus was given a relatively safe outlet for his distressing thoughts and not hold up in his room.

-

The next few days passed relatively smoothly, although they did have to restrict Patton’s kitchen time to only mealtimes to avoid the ship being taken over by sweets.

Unfortunately, they were not able to find a way for Virgil not to talk, but they had constructed a script that was both concise while still being detailed, that barely took over a minute for him to recite when calm. By the time they arrived Virgil had also memorized it and had expressed that he felt less scared then when he was initially been told what he’d have to do.

They landed in the docking bay and exited. They were greeted by a Alnaien with lime green skin, yellow hair, and short antenna. They led the crew to a large pyramid shaped building in the middle of the city.

Once inside the green Alnaien led them to a plat form that rose up and deposited them outside an automated door that opened into a blank white room. With six chairs and a podium.

“Just sit here for a minute and your meeting will begin shortly.”

With that they turned and left crew alone.

They all took a seat, the chairs adjusting to their heights and postures as they did so. Not long after they had gotten comfortable the walls of the room rippled and changed to project what felt like a much larger space with a raised table in front of them where three Alnaiens, in what looked like white form fitting lab coats that closed in the front, sat. The one on the far left was dark forest green, light green hair with a patch on their chin like a beard, and long antenna that bent down behind their head. The one on the right had dark purple skin, shoulder length blue hair, and long antenna that bent down then back up on either side of their head. Finally, the one in the middle was a dark pink color, with short purple swept to the side, and short antenna that curled under and up. All three looked down at the group in front of them.

“You requested to know the location of the bounty hunter known as The Dragon Witch. Please explain why you want this information.”

Logan got up from his seat and stood behind the podium.

“We wish to acquire this information because two weeks ago one of our crewmates was abducted by her. We wish to know her location so that we may retrieve him.”

The three Alnaiens looked to each other, nodded, then turned back to Logan.

“Could you recount the events that led up to this abduction?”

“Unfortunately, I was rendered unconscious during most of the confrontation, but our crewmate Virgil was aware of everything that happened.”

He motioned for Virgil to take the stand.

Virgil swallowed thickly then took a breath and got up. He didn’t look up knowing that seeing the eyes on him would only make him more nervous. So instead he just started his explanation of what happened.

He managed to get through most of it until he got to the part where the lights turned back on and The Dragon Witch was standing over him with a knife. His memories got fuzzy around this time due to his panic and while he knew what had happened, he couldn’t stop the fear that it wasn’t enough. That the three aliens in front of him would catch him in a missed detail and deny them the location. Deny them the only thing to help Dee.

“Virgil.”

Virgil blinked at hearing his name, not from behind him but in front of him. The confusion was enough to snap him out of his spiral and he looked up.

The three Alnaiens were looking down at him, not in anger or annoyance, he’d been around Logan enough to learn the small differences between squinting eyes that were Alnaien facial expressions to know that. No, they weren’t annoyed with him they seemed… concerned?

The middle one made a sound like clearing their throat and Virgil’s eyes snapped to them.

“It looked like you lost your train of thought. Would you like a few moments?”

Virgil blinked before slowly nodding and looking back down. He took a few breaths in the 4-7-8 pattern before continuing his story and sitting back down when he’d finished. His hands were shaking and his legs wobbled on the last step, but he’d gotten threw it and so far, it didn’t seem like he’s messed it up too bad.

Logan then took his place at the podium again to answer any more questions the other Alnaiens had.

After a few smooth answers Virgil was able to relax. It looked like things were going to go there way. That was until the Alnaien in the middle spoke up.

“This is definitely a case that needs to be looked into as it is clear that The Dragon Witch has violated her contract by taking on an illegal assignment, but there is one thing that I feel needs to be cleared up. You said your friend was abducted by The Dragon Witch but also happens to be half Serapan and from the same clan as her?”

Virgil tensed at the question, a bad feeling forming in his stomach.

Logan narrowed his eyes.

“That is correct.”

“I’m sorry if this comes off as offensive but in order for us to make the best decision on this, we need to know if there is any doubt that he was not working with The Dragon Witch.”

“WHAT?!”

Everyone turned to see Remus out of his seat, green morning star in his hand seeming to glow with his rage.

“How fucking dare you!”

“Remus.”

Roman tried to calm his brother down but Remus wasn’t having it.

“No, that bastard just accused Dee of working with the person who tried to ship us off to the guy who literally wants me fucking dead. I’m not going to be told to sit down and be quiet about this! I’ve lived with Dee practically since I been to Earth. I’d pretty much consider him my brother as much as you.”

Patton then stood up and Remus rounded on him.

“What, you going to tell me that I’m wrong? Fuck that. Dee’s just as much my brother as Roman, so is Virgil. I don’t care what genetics say. For years it was just me, Virgil, and Dee, and we did everything for each other. And even before that, never once did he ever mention wanting to know about his Serapan side. We’re his family and he knows it.”

The room was silent for a long moment after that. Then the Alnaien on the right adjusted their seat and everyone turned to them.

“Yes, thank you, that was our last question.”

They turned to the other two Alnaiens.

“Unless there is anything else that needs clearing up, I think that’s all we need.”

“Wait what?!”

The other two Alnaiens shook their heads before turning back to the group and the middle one spoke.

“Thank you, we’ll tell you our decision in the next thirty minutes.”

Before any of them could react the connection ended, and they were left in the blank white room again.

“Did that just happen?”

Roman stared at the now blank walls a bit stunned.

What little there was in the room did not remain intact for very long as Remus’ morning stat starting swinging.

-

Once Remus was done with his mini rampage, he slumped on the ground breathing heavily.

“Dam it. I fucked it up.”

“Remus…”

“No all we had to do was let Logan answer the dumb question, but I couldn’t control myself for one minute and now we lost everything.”

He pulled at his horns.

“Why can’t I ever just shut up.”

A soft, fuzzy hand landed on his shoulder.

“Because you needed to say it.”

Remus looked up at Patton.

“That question made you angry because of how strongly you feel about this.”

Patton kneeled down next to him.

“And because you were right.”

Remus stared at Patton stunned.

“You may not have said in the most acceptable way but everything you said was right. We’re Dee’s family and nothing’s going to change that.”

Patton then found himself being knocked over by violent tackle hug and quickly hugged back.

Just then door opened, and the Alnaien who led them to the room stepped in.

“Um they made a decision but couldn’t contact this room again.”

They glanced at the ruined podium.

“They agreed to give you the location and approved you going to help your friend.”

“Oh…”

-

They all raced back to the ship as fast as possible. Once inside they headed directly to the main computer to input the coordinates. They were all so frantic they almost missed the light indicating an incoming call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got so much motivation to write now that I've already got part of the next chapter written so hopefully it will be out soon.  
> I also got like 5 more ideas for new fics so expect another list to vote on again at the end of this fic.
> 
> Also for anyone who didn't realize the 3 Alnaien judges are meant to be other characters or at least the middle and left ones are. For the right one look at my profile pic.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for having you guys wait for so long for such as short chapter but November has not been an easy month. Not just because of the election but also my brother has been sick (not corona) which has left me alone at our private tutoring job with 5 kids.
> 
> Anyway I think I might have 2 or 3 more chapters of this.   
> So should I put my list of fic ideas now to give people more time to vote, or wait until the last chapter like I did with Abduction?

Dee curled into his bed with a groan. He didn’t even care that he’d mentally referred to something in this place as his he was too tired to care. Once they’d determined his hook cane to be the right size for him Raz had spent several hours every day teaching him how to use it. Which left him so sore and exhausted he couldn’t even think of sneaking out to find a way to contact his crew.

If Raz wasn’t so blatantly trusting of him in almost every other situation he’d suspect her of doing this on purpose. Right now, he was just lamenting the fact that he couldn’t dramatically collapse on the bed and actually had to climb inside.

He laid back and let sleep overcome him. There was no use in fighting it when he was this worn out.

However, when he opened his eyes again it wasn’t to morning light streaming through the window. No, the room was the pitch black that only came with waking up in the dead of night. Dee was suddenly much more awake upon realizing what that meant.

Shoving off the ache in his limbs, he quickly climbed out of bed and made his way silently out of the room and down the hall to the living room. He stood in the dark for a few moments before stomping his foot down in the place he’d seen Raz do before.

He tensed at the loud noise but when all that happened was the floor silently opening up and no accompanying footsteps from the hallway he relaxed and made his way down the steps.

Unfortunately, that was where he hit his first snag. The giant metal door that blocked off the basement from the rest of the house. There was no way he was going to be able to get through that without the key, which of course was Raz’s hand.

Letting his composure crack, without any witnesses, he let out an angry growle and slammed his hand against the door in frustration. Only to stare in shock at glowing yellow letters appearing above it.

‘Read unavailable.’

Dee stepped back and tilted his head before pressing his hand against the door again, this time lining up with how Raz had done it earlier. The same glowing letters appeared this time with further instructions.

‘Read unavailable. Remove obstruction.’

Dee looked down at his hand and the thin yellow glove covering it. He’d put them on unthinkingly as he had for nearly all of his life. The tools to hide his scales almost as much of part of him as the scales themselves. Sure, he had no reason to hide anymore, but hiding had become so second nature to him he felt uncomfortable exposing them.

Still it didn’t matter there was no one to see here and he wasn’t going to give up his one chance of rescue because of a bit of cloth. He remembered how Raz’s devices activated to his touch as well so, while it was incredibly naive of her, it was possible that the door would react the same to his touch as well. It just happened to be more sensitive since it was guarding something more important than a personal tablet.

Quickly he pulled the glove off and placed his hand against the door. For an agonizing second nothing happened, and then the lock slid back, and the door opened. He was in the basement, with access to the computer room alone and unsupervised.

However, he did not waist precious time doing something stupid, like marvel that he’d actually gotten this far, and instead walked briskly to the computer room, unconsciously slipping his glove back on in the process.

He made his way over to the computer and placed his hand on the console. Instantly the monitor lit up and he quickly located the communications program. It took a couple seconds more than he’d like to load but once it was up, he frantically started typing in the connection code for the Mind Palace. He silently thanked Virgil for forcing him to memorize it when they’d all become permanent residents of the ship.

The signal finally connected, and he stood in the line of the camera so he would be the first thing they saw when someone pics up.

Of course, that was when the whole plan came crashing down.

“Janus? What are you doing down here?”

Dee spun around to see Raz in the doorway. She wasn't angry or even accusatory, simply curious and a bit confused. Still that didn't stop the panic at seeing he's be caught.

A million different lies race through his head, but none would really explain what he was doing without follow up questions. How was he so stupid to not think of something to tell her if he’d gotten caught?

With dwindling time before his silence would become suspicious Dee decided on an answer. Half truths are always the best kinds of lies anyway.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to think I was conspiring behind your back. Not after what you said about Manny. You are my clan, and I would never want you to believe I would betray you the way he did, but there is someone on the ship that I need to contact.”

He took a breath, here was the thing that would either make or break his chance.

“You remember the human that was also on board?”

Raz’s expression changed to a playful smirk.

“You mean the one who helped you pin me with their jacket?”

Dee nodded.

“Yes, well you see he’s my brother. Not my full brother obviously, but my human mom was his mom too kind of thing.”

He tried not to cringe at explaining their relationship like that. Not just because it was a blatant lie but the thought that the only way for them to be accepted as family was to have them genetically related made his blood boil. Cultural differences or not.

“When you mentioned turning in Remus’ allies I couldn’t help but think about him. I know being fully human means that he’s not really part of our clan, but he was the closest thing I had to clan before now.”

Raz placed a hand on Dee’s wrist.

“It’s ok, I understand. He may not be my clan but you think of him yours and I would never force you to choose. I’ll help you keep him safe.”

Her eyes then lit up in a way that made Dee warry.

“That actually gives me an idea. I’ve been trying to think of how to catch the crew off guard again, now that they know I’m after them, but now we might not have to. The crew don’t know that we’re clan, they have no reason to think you would be loyal to me, but they know you would be loyal to your brother. If you send them a fake message of where they can find you, I can ambush them while you get your brother some place safe.”

Dee hid his roiling emotions behind a calm smile and nodded. It really was a great idea if that had been what he wanted, but now he was just scrambling to try and find a way out of it that wouldn’t be suspicious. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t get the chance as Raz shoved him back in front of the camera and ran off to hide just as his call got picked up.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, it didn't really go in the way I wanted it too.  
> Oh well I think I have away to make things better in the next chapter.

Once the indicator was noticed there was another frantic scramble to answer. It was unclear who actually pressed the button but that didn’t matter. The screen came to life and there Dee stood with a smile, that to anyone else would be seen as confident, but to them was clearly hiding his fear.

“Dee!”

The barest of winces crossed Dee’s face and he quickly glanced somewhere off camera.

“Yes, please shout as loud as possible. It’s not like I’m trying to contact you discreetly or anything.”

Everyone quickly quieted down and waited for Dee to speak. Dee tugged on his gloves as he glanced off screen again.

“I don’t have much time. The Dragon Witch took me to her base. I’m not exactly sure where, but I’ll see if I can send you the coordinates.”

“That’s ok we…”

Roman was cut off when Virgil shoved his way into view.

“We’ve been looking for you, coordinates would make things easier, but we think we’ll still be able to find you soon.”

A small quirk of his lips was the only indication Dee gave to show his relief at hearing that.

“Good. I’ll get you the coordinates when I can and try to think of a plan. In the meantime, be careful, The Dragon Witch is still after all of you.”

He glanced off screen again with another tug at his gloves.

Virgil gave Dee a smirk.

“You do realize who you’re talking to, right? You be careful too.”

Dee smirked back, the minuscule tension between his eyebrows relaxing.

“Of course, since when have I ever taken care of myself first?”

Virgil gave Dee a genuine smile.

“It’s good to see you again, Dee. We’ve all missed you.”

Dee’s smile grew softer.

“I missed you too.”

“Hey, don’t hog Dee to yourself.”

Remus shoved Virgil back and smiled up at the camera.

“Don’t worry Dee, we’ll save you, and I promise to smash in the skulls of anyone who gets in our way.”

Dee’s smile became more strained as his eyes darted to somewhere off screen again, although this time much briefer than the previous times.

“Yes, thank you Remus.”

His smile then became a frown.

“I have to go. I’ll contact you again when I can.”

Then the screen went dark.

-

Virgil turned from the screen to the rest of the group.

“I’m not the only one who found that weird, right?”

Remus nodded, but the others stared at him in confusion.

“Would you elaborate?”

Virgil sent Logan a ‘really?’ look.

“He was fidgeting and looking off camera the whole time.”

“Those are common stress responses. Dee has plenty of reasons to be stressed.”

“Except that’s not how Dee acts when he’s stressed. You know him, he hides everything when he’s scared. There’s no way he’d make such obvious signs without it being on purpose.”

Patton tilted his head.

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know, but he was obviously trying to make us notice. The only time he did act like he normal does is when Roman started saying we don’t need the coordinates.”

Remus nodded along looking thoughtful.

“He also acted really weird when I started talking.”

Everyone turned to Remus.

“He got really tense and then just ended the call.”

A flash of hurt crossed his face before returning to worry.

“Something’s off.”

Roman crossed his arms.

“So, what are we supposed to do about that?”

“There’s not much we can do. We are lacking information. For now, we should stick to our original course of action of following the coordinates we were given. We’ll see what happens when Dee contacts us again.”

Everyone agreed with Logan and got in position to take off.

-

About a day after the message from Dee, Patton found Remus sitting by the control panel. Staring at the call light as if trying to will it to start blinking.

“Kiddo?”

Remus snapped around into an attack stance before seeing who it was and slumping back into his chair and staring at the light again.

Patton took a cautious step into the room but when Remus just continued staring, he relaxed and sat down beside him.

“Mind telling me what’s on your mind?”

“You don’t want to hear it.”

Patton frowned and let out a sigh.

“You’re having the thoughts again.”

His tone wasn’t judgmental or accusing, simply understanding, and Remus nodded.

“They’ve been bad since Dee was taken but they’ve been really bad today.”

He pulled his knees to his chest, his hooves awkwardly clinking against the seat.

“I thought talking to Dee yesterday would make them better but with how weird he acted it just stressed me out more.”

Patton placed a hand on Remus’ and pulled him out of the seat.

“Well sitting here and focusing on what triggered them isn’t going to help. Let’s go into the common room. We can do some of those exercises that help and we can find some fun things to do to help you feel better.”

Remus nodded and let Patton lead him out of the room.

-

Apparently, Remus wasn’t the only one who needed cheering up and after a while the whole crew was playing games in the common room. After a few hours they were all smiling and relaxed more than they had been since Dee was taken.

Suddenly Logan dropped the puzzle game he’d been working on and brought up another screen.

“It appears Dee has managed to send us the coordinates he promised us.”

Roman gave a small snort.

“Not like we really need them, we already got them from the alliance.”

“Except these are not the same coordinates we got from the alliance.”

Everyone’s head shot up at that.

“What?”

“The coordinates from the alliance mark a point on the Serapan home world the ones from Dee are for an asteroid in a ring closer to the systems sun.”

Patton frowned in confusion.

“Are you saying the alliance’s coordinates are wrong?”

“Not necessarily. The coordinates the alliance gave us are definitely her legal place of residence. However, given the circumstances, there are two possible explanations. First since this is not a legal job The Dragon Witch could be hiding out in some place that is off the records. Second, given the odd behavior Dee was exhibiting when he contacted us, it’s possible that he gave us incorrect coordinates.”

“Why would he give us the wrong coordinates?”

Logan folded his hands together.

“Well this is just speculation but after reviewing Dee’s behavior, with the knowledge that his fidgeting was a deliberate message to us, I believe I know what he was trying to tell us. While was looking off screen it was always to the same place and always before he said something. As if he was taking cues from someone.”

Everyone’s eyes went wide. Then something was thrown across the room and everyone turned to Remus.

“That motherfucker was with him the whole time!”

Roman quickly ran to his brother to calm him down.

“She won’t be for long. We’ll figure this out and rescue him from her clutches. We’re not going to let the Dragon Witch harm him.”

Remus let the anger drain at Roman’s words but what’s left behind isn’t any better. A deep worry swam in his eyes, the kind that only came with the inability to do anything in a bad situation. 

“If she was there and telling him what to say then she’s not just using him as bait, she’s forcing him to impale himself on the hook.”

Roman's lips twitched as he tried to avoid grimacing at Remus' words and think of something to say. 

“Gruesome metaphors aside, Remus is correct.”

Everyone turned back to Logan.

“If my second theory is true, then the coordinates Dee allegedly sent us lead to a trap.”

“So what? We just ignore them and follow the ones the alliance gave us?”

“That would probably be the safest option. If the other coordinates are a trap, then we’ll be avoiding said trap. If it is my first theory or something else, then we can go to the second set of coordinates and possibly find more information about the Dragon Witch by investigating her legal residence.”

Everyone looked to each other but no one made any objections.

“I’ll save the other coordinates and continue our course as it was.”

Everyone nodded and after a while all returned to the games they’d been playing, no one noticing the worried expression that crossed Virgil’s features.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else feel weird writing characters that swear when you don't swear that much?  
> Also I'm pretty sure there's only going to be 2 more chapters, unless the plot sends me another curve ball.  
> I didn't get any answers last chapter but I'm asking again.  
> Does anyone want the list of my new fic ideas now or do you want them at the end of the fic like I've done before?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got a lot longer than it was meant to so guess we've got a bit of a cliffhanger here.  
> I also tried to keep to my one perspective per chapter style but I really couldn't do it with this chapter.   
> Don't think that'll hurt anything just wanted to let you guys know why I changed things this chapter.

Dee forced his hands to stop shaking as he packed what little he’d accumulated during his time with Raz. Once she had sent the crew the fals coordinates, she told him to pack so they could get there early enough to set their trap.

He ignored how his stomach roiled at the thought and continue to shove things into his small bag.

Most of it was just clothes, altered to fit his two-armed body, and other essentials but, there were a few other things as well. His hooked cane obviously, but also a patch depicting a coiled serpent like creature Raz had said was their clan symbol.

The smile Raz had on when she’d given it to him had sent a weird twist of emotions through him and he quickly shoved it in his bag before he could think too much about the memory.

“Are you ready to go?”

Dee spun around to see Raz in the doorway and he instantly changed his expression to one of exacerbation.

“I knew you were there the whole time.”

Raz just smiled.

“Of course, you did. Anyway, got everything else we’ll need on the ship all that’s left is your bag.”

“You’re not going to pack anything?”

“Don’t need too, I always keep a trunk of stuff on the ship. Makes getting on cases a lot faster and easier. Now come on.”

Unable to stall any longer Dee followed her to the cruiser.

-

The trip to the asteroid was tense. Raz kept trying to calm him by laying out the plan again and assuring him nothing would go wrong, which was the exact opposite of what Dee needed to hear.

“We just need to separate your brother from the others before they’re led into the actual trap. It should be easy enough to scatter them you just need to keep track of where everyone is, and keep your brother away from them and out of danger. I’ll be waiting in the control room ready to spring the trap once everyone’s in the right rooms.”

Dee nodded behind his carefully constructed mask to hide his true feelings and quickly started thinking to himself. Raz had described the structure on the asteroid to be like a maze. The plan was to send drones in that would cause the group to scatter and become lost. Dee would be given a device that would be able to track where everyone was so he could get to Virgil and distract him while the others were hurried into the main room where Raz would have full control. He didn’t know what exactly would happen after that, but he had some pretty good guesses.

It was a pretty simple plan which thankfully meant it would be simple to disrupt. The only problem was that since it relied so much on chaos and confusion, it would be very hard to plan for everything. The best he could do was grab Virgil and lead him to the control room before the others were forced into the trap.

Getting passed Raz would be the difficult part but he had a plan for that. He just hoped Virgil would play along.

-

Once on the asteroid it didn’t’ take long to set everything up, most of what was needed was already there. Dee thought about asking why this maze of a building was built in such a remote location but decided that there were enough context clues that said he probably didn’t want to know the answer. Instead, he busied himself with going over his revised version of the plan.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Raz’s excited exclamation.

“They’re here!”

Dee looked to the monitor Raz was pointing too and sure enough the Mind Palace was landing not that far away.

“That was fast, they were only a day behind us.”

Raz nodded and narrowed her eyes.

“Yeah, it’s as if they were already in this system.”

She shook her head and smiled.

“Well never mind that, it just means we can get this over with faster.”

“Right, I’ll get into position.”

He got up and made his way out of the control room, hooked cane and tracking tablet in hand.

-

They hadn’t found anything at The Dragon Witch’s official base. Everything they found just seemed like a normal home. Including the spare bedroom, that while bare, had still been clearly lived in for the last few weeks. However, it didn’t give any clues to what they would find when they got back to Dee.

Eventually, they had to accept that they weren’t going to find anything and left for the asteroid coordinates. However, Virgil couldn’t help but nervously look back as if he felt they’d missed something.

“Something wrong, End of the Universe?”

Virgil looked up from the window and turned to Roman.

“No, just something didn’t feel right about that place.”

“You think we missed something?”

“I don’t know. It just felt wrong in there, it was so… normal. Alien obviously, but not what you’d think in interplanetary bounty hunter would have as a base. It was just a house.”

“I know boring, if nothing else she should at least have some interior decoration. Add some personality.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Roman took a step back with his arms up in surrender.

“Ok, ok. I’m sorry I was just trying to lighten the mood.”

Virgil turned back to the window and watched the Serapan home world get farther away.

“He was there.”

“What?”

“Not anymore but someone had been sleeping in the other bedroom, meaning he was there recently. If we had gotten there sooner, maybe…”

“Hey now, don’t worry about that. There was no way we could have arrived any sooner than we did.”

“Except there was. If we had just hacked in and taken the information, we could have been here days if not weeks ago. I refused to let us take that risk but if we had…”

“Don’t say that! Virgil we all made that choice. You were right about the dangers of taking the information without permission. Besides, we still have a chance to find him.”

“By heading into a trap?”

“By trusting Dee.”

Virgil’s anger instantly dropped and Roman smiled.

“He’s the one who made us aware of the trap in the first place. Not only that but he is also cunning and has a way with turning situations to his advantage. He’s not just going to go along with whatever The Dragon Witch wants, and neither are we. When we get to the asteroid, we’re not going to blindly walk in like fools. We’ll be smart about this and we’ll get him back.”

Virgil nodded.

“Thanks Roman.”

“Anytime.”

-

Once on the asteroid it wasn’t hard to find where they were supposed to be headed. A large building was built into the side of a crater, doors left suspiciously wide open.

“Well, if we weren’t sure of this being a trap we definitely are now. Might as well throw ourselves into a butt of a giant space whale.”

“I do not believe such a creature exists.”

“Be cool if it did though.”

They all turned back to the building as they thought of other alternatives to just walking right in.

Logan was, of course, the one to come up with the idea.

“I will send a drone to map out the building. I will also see if I can find where Dee is and where any hidden dangers might be as well.”

He tapped a few times on one of his glowing screens and a hatch opened up to release a small floating disk that then flew down and through the open doors. He then made a swiping motion and the feed from the drone appeared on the ship’s main monitor.

For a while there wasn’t much to see other than the drone flying around plane white hallways that winded around in no clear direction. Then finally the hallway opened up into a large room that appeared to be in the center of the maze. The walls were the same unbroken white as the rest of the building only less constricting, and there, standing in the center, was Dee looking intently at a tablet.

Patton perked up at seeing him.

“It’s Dee!”

Virgil crossed his arms and frowned.

“Yeah, but what’s he doing?”

Logan attempted to get a better look without having the drone enter the room. While it was a relief to see Dee safe and unharmed, it was still suspicious that he was left alone with The Dragon Witch nowhere in sight.

“I can’t tell but the sensors aren’t picking up anyone else in the room. He does indeed seem to be alone.”

Virgil shook his head.

“Seems too easy, there’s no way The Dragon Witch doesn’t have something for us in that room. Not after the way she took us down so easily the first time.”

Patton nodded.

“But what are we supposed to do. Dee’s right there, we need to go get him.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Everyone looked to Remus confused.

“Did you forget the reason The Dragon Witch is after us in the first place? She wants that bounty on me. Everything she’s planning is useless if she doesn’t get me.”

“Wait, are you, my brother, willingly volunteering to sit out of a potential fight?”

“I’m volunteering to cause havoc and break things close to the exit and far away from Dee and the trap until you can get him out. The Dragon Bitch will be too focused on trying to get me into the trap that she won’t even notice her bate is gone until he’s already gone.”

“That’s… actually a passable idea.”

Logan squinted his eyes in thought.

“We’ll need a few contingencies for if The Dragon Witch shows up herself as well as a plan for escape but over all we seem to have the outline of a plan.”

-

Dee stood in the main room of the complex staring at his tablet and waiting for it to indicate his friends’ entrance. They were just outside but hadn’t yet come in. Which given the circumstances was probably a good thing, given how obviously of a trap this was and it meant they were probably thinking of ways to get to him without getting caught, but that didn’t make the waiting any less intolerable.

Just then a beep came from the tablet and he quickly looked down to see five dots, color coded based on species, appear on the screen. They were inside.

He waited for a moment until all the dots suddenly scattered and were sent down different hallways. Taking note of the fastest path to the purple dot he grabbed his hooked cane and made his way swiftly out the door.

-

As soon as they all stepped foot into the building the doors, unsurprisingly, shut behind them.

Remus transformed his sash into his morningstar ready to start smashing whatever he could reach.

Logan brought up his screens and turned to the rest of the crew.

“Alright, I have the rout to the main room mapped out and have sent it to all your devices. It is best that the rest of us do not get separated but if we do try to meet back up as soon as possible.”

Everyone nodded and turned to the hallway Logan indicated.

That was when things went wrong.

A concealed hatch in the ceiling opened up and a swarm of micro drones came out. They then started shooting at the crew forcing them away from each other.

Patton cried out in pain as one of the lasers hit and he stumbled back. Everyone tried to run to him but the drone formation made it impossible to get to him without being hit themselves.

Remus and Roman attempted to smash and slice their way through the drones and managed to do find for a while, the lasers not as effective on them as they were with Patton. However, they didn’t seem to be making any progress as more drones came and forced them back.

Virgil looked to Logan.

“What do we do?”

“We should attempt to stay together as much as possible. Virgil, given your high pain tolerance you should be able it to make to Patton. There is an intersection between that hallway and the one I’m being force down, we’ll meet up there and continue the plan from there.”

Virgil nodded and after eyeing the lasers warily took a breath and jumped through. He let out a small hiss as one of the lasers hit but made no other indication of pain.

Unfortunately, that was the only part of Logan’s plan that worked as Patton was forced back by the drones again and a large metal door slammed shut across the hallway entrance. No amount of pain tolerance was getting Virgil to him now.

Changing course he attempted to get to Logan, but the drones seemed to change as well. Instead of sending shots that he just shrugged off they swarmed around him, physically pushing him back to a different hallway. This was much more effective and Virgil could feel his sneakers sliding against the smooth floor.

“NO!”

Virgil tried to fight back, but he was just pushed back by another wave of drones. He stumbled back and the hallway sealed off in front of him, just as it had with Patton.

He shoved at the door, but it was no use. There was no way he was ever going to get through.

Thankfully there were no drones on this side of the door, not that it was much of a consolation. All he could do was follow Logan’s map and try to get back to the path that led to the main room and meet back up with the others on the way.

With an angry huff he pulled up the map with shaking hands and started walking.

“It’s ok, we planned for this. It’s going to be ok. Everything is going to be ok.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is turning out to be longer than I meant it to be.   
> None of these characters want to be in the same place long enough for the climax to actually happen.  
> Also I've run out of space themed nick names for Roman to call Virgil.  
> Didn't need them for this chapter but probably will in the future so if anyone can think of any please let me know.

It actually didn’t take long for Virgil to get to the intersection of his path and the one Patton had been forced down. He turned the corner and sure enough he saw a shock of light blue fur a few yards down.

Virgil opened his mouth and was just about to call out to Patton when he felt something hook around his waist and pulled him back. He was then pushed against the wall and before he could call for help a hand covered his mouth.

He struggled a bit before realizing said hand had a glove on it. A yellow glove to be precise. He looked from the glove then back up at mismatched eyes, one alien and one human.

His thrashing instantly stopped as he processed what he was seeing. After weeks of worry and searching there was Dee, right in front of him. He lifted his hands as if to touch and make sure what he was seeing was real, but Dee took his hand away and stepped back.

“We don’t have that much time, come on.”

Dee grabbed Virgil’s wrist and started pulling him in the opposite direction of Patton. He managed to pull him a few steps before Virgil’s brain caught up with him and he stopped.

“Wait, Dee hold up. Patton’s just around the corner.”

Dee stopped and glanced back at where Virgil was pointing. He took a step towards the other hallway before shaking his head and turning back the way he’d been headed.

“We don’t have time and she’ll get suspicious if I bring anyone other than you.”

That really got Virgil to reel and he pulled his hand form Dee’s grip.

“She? You mean The Dragon Witch?!”

Dee closed his eyes and took a breath. He then opened them and took ahold of Virgil’s hand.

“Look I can’t really explain everything, but if you want us to get out of this safely, I’m going to need you to trust me and play along.”

Virgil looked down at Dee’s hand. The grip wasn’t tight but it was firm and ever so slightly shaking, with a sense of urgency and possible desperation felt through the contact. He then looked into Dee’s eyes, searching. For a moment everything was quiet, before Virgil seemed to find what he was looking for and nodded.

“Ok yeah, I trust you.”

Dee smiled and nodded back, the nervous energy he’d been giving off dropping away. He then started down the hallway and Virgil followed.

-

Dee led Virgil swiftly through the winding maze of hallways until they got to a door that opened to a flight of stairs. He then turned to Virgil with a serious expression.

“You remember what I said about playing along, right?”

Virgil nodded and Dee relaxed a fraction.

“Alright, also I’m not sure how much she’s able to pick up on lies so try to avoid saying too many.”

“Wait are you saying we’re actually going to have to talk to her?!”

He took a step back looking terrified of the prospect.

Dee grit his teeth. He knew convincing Virgil to just go along with this without any explanation would be hard but they really did not have time for this.

“If we want an exit to this place then yes.”

He glanced back at Virgil to see him hunched in on himself and hissed out a sigh.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do most of it. It’s just long enough for me to get access to the controls of this place.”

Virgil swallowed nervously but didn’t argue.

“Ok, but you promise to explain things once this is over right?”

Dee’s face softened.

“Yes, I promise once this is done, I’ll tell you everything, but right now we need to focus on getting everyone out of here.”

Virgil gave Dee a look, seeming to have picked up on how his tone indicated there was more behind what he was saying. However, he then seemed to decide it wasn’t worth questioning at the moment and let Dee lead him up the stairs.

-

Once at the top they entered the control room, where Raz was staring at a monitor that showed the same color coded dots as Dee’s tablet.

The door opening seemed to alert them to their presence, and she turned. At seeing them in the doorway her eyes lit up and she stepped closer.

“You got him.”

Virgil flinched and instinctively took a step closer to Dee.

Raz’s face fell and she looked from Virgil to Dee concerned.

“Is he hurt? I made sure to avoid hitting him with lasers as much as possible, but there might have been a few.”

Dee looked to Virgil as if it had just occurred to him that he might have actually been injured.

Virgil was quick to dispel the worry.

“No, I’m fine. It’s just um…”

He glanced to Raz and realization crossed her face. She then looked away with a grimace.

“Oh, right I guess this is kind of awkward after what happened. Did Deceit tell you what’s going on?”

Virgil turned to Dee confused.

“Deceit.”

Dee shrugged.

“My name for non-clan, I’ll explain more later. You can still call me Dee though.”

Raz gave them a complicated expression before settling on a smirk.

“I’m guessing that’s a no on the whole telling you what’s going on thing?”

Virgil snapped his attention back to Raz and frowned.

Raz didn’t react and turned back to the monitor.

“You probably figured out that I’m after the bounty on the Fae-lil and his companions, which is why I was on your ship. My plan was to just incapacitate you all long enough to turn you in but as you know things didn’t exactly go to plan. Mostly thanks to you, which actually turned out for the better since it made me get a good look at Deceit and realize he’s clan. I then staged that little kidnapping then revealed we were clan and we started working on a way to get the bounty in a way that absolves him from being a part of it. Later he told me about your bond and asked me to keep you out of the bounty as well. Of course, I said yes and here we are.”

Virgil looked to Dee and he waved his hand in a ‘more or less’ gesture.

“There are a few more details I’ll tell you later but overall, yes that’s pretty much it.”

“So, what now?”

“Well first we have to get the targets into the main room so they can be properly subdued, but that may take some time since both the Fae-lils are being difficult.”

She then turned to Dee.

“Which should be easily fixed.”

Virgil tensed while Dee just gave her a quizzical look.

“What are you suggesting.”

Raz shrugged and smiled.

“They followed your directions before, so they’ll follow you again.”

Dee tensed.

“Are you suggesting I go down there and lead them to the main room on my own? You never said anything about me doing more than getting my brother.”

Raz’s face softened.

“I know but this is the fastest and easiest way to do this that doesn’t involve overly violent force. And if anything goes wrong, I’ll get you out. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Dee clenched his hands.

“You’re sure this is the best way?”

“Nothing that doesn’t make this ten times more complicated.”

Dee closed his eyes and let out a breath. he then opened them and turned to Virgil with a questioning look. It was clear he wasn’t comfortable leaving him alone with Raz.

However, before Virgil could figure out what to say Raz cut in.

“Your brother will also be safe here.”

Dee didn’t respond and continued to look at Virgil for his reaction.

Virgil shifted uncomfortably but eventually nodded.

“Yeah, I know it’s clear I’m not a fan of her.”

He pointed to Raz.

“But if this is something you have to do, I trust you.”

Dee let out a breath then nodded.

“Alright, if there is no other way.”

He locked eyes with Raz.

“Just let him be and don’t pressure him to talk.”

He then turned back to Virgil.

“I will return as soon as I can, if something goes wrong do what she says and stay out of her way.”

Virgil nodded and locked his eyes with Dee to show he understood the hidden meaning behind his words.

Dee then turned and made his way out of the room and down into the twisted hallways.

-

Once at the bottom of the stairs Dee let out a sigh that was shakier than he would have liked. This was not how things were supposed to go. He was not supposed to be outside the control room while Raz was setting up the final phase of the trap and Virgil was most certainly not supposed to be alone with her. He needed to find a way to salvage this fast or things were going to go really bad really fast. He really shouldn’t have left, but Raz had used the words violent force and all other thought processes had stopped after that. He just hoped he would be able to think of something before things went even more south.

Getting to where Remus and Roman were was easy enough with his tablet. Getting their attention was the hard part.

Both of them were too busy destroying the onslaught of drones to notice he’d arrived. For a moment Dee debated if that was a good thing since it gave him time to think, but upon seeing Roman recoil in pain at as stray shot hitting him, his body reacted before his brain did and his hooked cane came down on the guilty drone.

The drone smashed to the floor and for a short second everything felt like it froze. Then Dee was suddenly scooped up into a pair of strong arms that crushed him against a broad chest.

“DEE!”

Oh yeah it was definitely Remus who’d spotted him first.

“Ah Remus, please do keep crushing me. I have no need for my ribcage to be intact.”

Remus let go but didn’t lose the wide smile he was giving him.

“What are you doing here? We thought the Dragon Witch had you.”

Dee smoothed out his shirt.

“Yes, well that’s a bit of a story. Right now, we’ve got to start moving or she’ll get suspicious.”

He turned and started making his way down the hall. He didn’t look back to see if they were following but the sound of hooves clicking behind him alerted him that they were.

As they walked, he tried to think of a way to get them out of this. There were only a few turns they needed to make before they got to the main room and there was no way he was going to just lead them into the trap the way Raz wanted.

Inspiration hit when they passed an intersection that if they’d turned would have led them to the control room. His old plan was out the window might as well take a page from the Fae-lils’ books.

When they got to the hallway that was just a straight shot to the main room he abruptly stopped, forcing Remus and Roman to nearly run into him. He then spun around to face them and leaned in.

“Keep close to me.”

He then darted back down the way they came, making sure to drag the Fae-lil’s with him.

Both Roman and Remus were a bit startled by this sudden change but were quickly able to get their feet under them and easily kept up with Dee as he raced back to the intersection.

-

Virgil watched Raz as she watched the monitor. A bright yellow dot had appeared in the maze and had quickly made its way over to the two maroon dots near the entrance. Virgil bit his thumbnail as he watched the dots start towards the center room, only to jump when Raz loudly cursed at the very sharp and rapid turn the dots made as they started racing in the opposite direction.

“Shit they must have found out where he was leading them, and now they’re headed right here.”

She turned from the monitor and startled a bit at seeing Virgil, apparently forgetting he was there. However, she instantly recovered and fixed him with a look.

“Stay here.”

She then went to the door and exited the room.

Fore a moment Virgil stood there a bit stunned before quickly snapping out of it and started weighing his options. He considered the control panel for a moment, but after seeing that absolutely nothing was labeled, turned to the door and ran out after Raz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also since this is taking so long I'm just going to post my other fic ideas here so I don't forget them.   
> You guys can vote on them now or wait until the end of this fic when I post them again.
> 
> 1\. Light Sides have Animal Traits Too - Sequel to Only Dark Sides have Animal Traits. While keeping an eye on Patton and Janus' interactions Virgil notices Logan and Remus have been spending a lot of time together as well. He then finds a black feather in front of Logan's door.
> 
> 2.Reverse Changeling - Remus grew up being told that faeries are purely good creatures that grant humans wishes. Gross. However, years later he saw his best friend Virgil taken away by a fairy and learns a bit more about fairies then he ever expected, including a bit of his own past.
> 
> 3\. What Lives in the Woods? - Scare all who enter, if they choose to run let them, if they choose to stay bring them to The Mother so they may become like you. Virgil the spider monster had lived by this rule ever since he was taken to The Mother himself, then Patton entered the woods.
> 
> 4\. You Don't Want to See Me Without Coffee, I Become Such a Bitch - Remy has a secret he's been keeping from the Sides. It's a lot of work but he's able to keep it, if only doing work wasn't completely against his function. (Basically the connection between my two thoughts of the orange side could be depression/laziness and Remy kind of acts depressed. So secret Dark Side Remy fic.)
> 
> 5\. Dream Boy (Not so sure on the title) - When Nico said he wanted to learn more about his boyfriend getting trapped in said boyfriend's mind and meeting different aspects of his personality was not what he had in mind.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was going to be longer but other circumstances happened.

Dee kept an eye out as they ran. Drones, barriers, doors, anything that Raz could activate to try at stop Roman and Remus from ‘chasing’ him, but for some reason nothing happened. That reason became clear when he had to stop himself from crashing headlong into her.

“I thought you were in the control room.”

He didn’t get an answer as he was quickly shoved aside for Raz to face down the Fae-lils behind him. Right, this is why he usually thought his plans through more. He was just about ready to drop the charade of working with Raz when Virgil suddenly came from around the corner and wasn’t as lucky on avoiding a collision.

Both he and Raz went slamming to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Without missing a beat Dee pulled Virgil from the floor and shoved him at the Fae-lil twins and motioned for them to run. They did without question and quickly turned back down the hallway they’d been running.

Dee then turned to help Raz up, but before she could say anything, he started dragging her after the others. If they were going to get out of this, he couldn’t give her any time to think her plans through either. 

They followed Roman, Remus, and Virgil through the hallways until they all ended up in the center room. Dee tensed for a moment before realizing that with no one in the control room the trap couldn’t actually be activated. The main room was just that, a room.

A large, open, and well-lit room that gave them all a much more equal combat ground than a confined darkened dining room. Huh, maybe there was something to this running in blind nonsense after all.

Apparently, Dee wasn’t the only one to realized this, as every other pair of eyes turned to Raz, Roman and Remus holding their weapons ready.

Raz hissed in displeasure and took a fighting stance. She glanced back towards the hallway they just came down but the lack of distance between them and the Fae-lil twins made it clear retreat was not an option.

For a long moment everyone was frozen, and then Remus lunged.

His morning star crashed down in the spot Raz had been standing barely more than a second before.

She landed a few feet away, one pair of arms tucked to her sides while the other two held a pair of knives in front of her. She lunged but was blocked by Roman and had to turn her momentum into a dodge to avoid his sword. She grit her teeth and glared threateningly at the brothers, pupils barely more than slits, but they didn’t back down. It was clear that now that this was a fair fight, they were far more of a match for her.

The problem was that Raz wouldn’t let this fight remain fair.

Dee acted before he even realized he’d seen the needle and in one fluid movement, trained into him from weeks of endless practice, his cane had hooked around Raz’s waste and slammed her against the wall.

For a long moment Raz just staired in shock at Dee before instantly growing cold and void of emotion.

“I see.”

She looked down at the hook around her in disappointment.

“I really hoped I was wrong this time.”

She then glared at Dee.

“But I guess neither of us learned anything.”

She then kicked her knee up against the cane, dislodging it from Dee’s grasp and freeing herself.

Dee stumbled back from the unexpected jolt and his eyes widened when he felt something sharp pierce his right shoulder. He looked down as sure enough there was a needle lodged right above his bicep.

He staggered a bit and clutched his head before his legs gave out. He landed on his hands, but it was clear he was putting a lot of effort into keeping himself up.

“Dee!”

Virgil and Patton both ran over to him but he wobbly brushed them off.

“I’m fine, it doesn’t effect humans.”

“But you’re only half human.”

“And it’s clearly effecting you!”

Dee grit his teeth but continued to try and push the others off him while failing to stand back up.

Raz spared a disappointed look in his direction before being forced back into the fight. She avoided shots from Logan’s laser and swings from the twins’ weapons but still wasn’t able to get a hit in with her own attacks.

She was so focused on evading Logan, Roman, and Remus she didn’t realize when her foot landed next to Dee’s fallen cane, but Dee did. His eyes locked onto the movement and in a feat of precision and swiftness that seemed impossible given his current condition lunged. His hands found the grip of the cane and yanked.

Raz went tumbling and Virgil and Patton pounced on her, each pinning down two of her arms.

Dee then got up as if he’d never been affected by the sedative in the first place and walked over to them. He then bent down and pulled a dart from Raz’s belt.

Raz thrashed and glared at Dee but he refused to look at her and the needle went into her arm without a problem.

She let out an enraged hiss, but it was soon cut off and she slumped on the ground unconscious.

Everyone stood still for a long moment, no one daring to take their eyes off Raz in fear that she would somehow wake up. But after a solid three minutes passed with no indication of her getting up they relaxed.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Everyone nodded at Virgil’s words and started heading out of the room.

Dee, however, found he couldn’t help but look back at Raz, still motionless on the floor. He tried to turn away, telling himself that he didn’t care what happened to her, but something kept holding him back. Eventually he let out an agitated sigh and turned to the others.

“Wait.”

Everyone stopped and turned around to face him.

Dee’s face screwed up in frustration.

“Look I don’t know why, but something’s stopping me from just leaving her there. So can one of you please talk some sense into me so we can leave already.”

Patton looked from Dee to Raz and frowned.

“No, I think you’re right. Leaving her like that is just wrong, even if she did hurt us.”

Virgil crossed his arms.

“Yeah, and when she wakes up, she’ll just come after us again. It’s not safe to just leave her. We need to call the authorities.”

Something twisted in Dee’s stomach at the suggestion and his face scrunched in discomfort.

Remus noticed this and gave Dee a questioning look.

“Ugh, it’s not just that. It’s… I don’t know but she told me she was only doing this because she was being blackmailed which doesn’t excuse what she did, but it makes me feel uncomfortable... to just ignore that.”

Patton’s eyes widened.

“Blackmailed?”

“Yes, did I not just say that?”

Logan got a thoughtful look.

“That would explain a lot.”

“What are you talking about?”

“While looking up information on the Dragon Witch in an attempt to rescue you it was revealed that despite the large sum offered by the bounty it is not the kind of job, she would take given it’s less than legal standing. However, if what she said about her being blackmailed is true, and given the evidence most likely is, then that would explain why she did all this.”

“And this is relevant to the problem of me not being able to just ignore her and leave how?”

Patton looked to Janus with large eyes.

“It’s because you feel sorry for her and care. That’s sweet.”

Dee’s only response to that was to scrunch is face in disgust.

Logan gave a noncommittal shrug.

“That is possible, humans do have the strongest pack bonding instinct of all sentient species. Or it could be the manifestation of his Serapan clan protective instinct. Either way there is nothing stopping you from leaving aside from your feelings speared on by whichever instincts are active at the moment.”

Dee clenched his fists and looked at the ceiling.

“Ok so what do I do about them?”

“Well, you’re right about not leaving her here.”

Everyone turned to Patton.

“If she had to be blackmailed into doing all of this then she’s a victim too. Leaving her behind or giving her to the authorities to be locked up would just be cruel.”

“It also wouldn’t actually solve the issue. As Virgil pointed out leaving her behind would just let her try and attack us again, while putting her in custody would not stop the blackmailer from doing the same to another bounty hunter. One that will not have personal biases that we can exploit.”

“Ok, so what are we supposed to do with her?”

“We could tie her up and take her with us. Then when she wakes up, we could use her to find the person who blackmailed her and possibly even the people behind the bounty itself.”

Everyone looked to Remus wide eyed.

“What? I didn’t even say anything gross this time.”

Virgil shook his head.

“No, that’s actually a good idea.”

Remus blinked.

“Wait, are you saying we’re going to use my idea? That’s two in one day.”

“Yeah well, it’s an unusual situation, so we need unusual ideas and that’s kind of your expertise.”

Remus grinned.

“True. So, if we’re actually going to do this… I volunteer Roman to drag her limp body to the ship!”

He then started running for the door with his brother yelling after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those circumstances being in order new job, new apartment, slipping on ice outside new apartment and breaking my shoulder resulting in 3 days in the hospital, surgery, and returning to my parents place so they can take care of me.

**Author's Note:**

> Image on Tumblr:  
> https://everystarstorm.tumblr.com/post/620049903790522368/drew-the-sides-from-my-fic-abduction-on-ao3


End file.
